Summary: It's Naoto's birthday and someone special has some special plans for the oblivious detective.
Yukari had planned this out very carefully, today was Naoto’s birthday and while she could have just spent a bunch of money and bought the detective something, instead she had worked hard and made her something by hand. It was shoddy, it looked like a 5 year old had made it but she had put all of her love, all of her heart, and all of her soul into this over the past couple of months. She was finishing up the final touches now, and she hoped her lover liked it. Smiling as she polished it up she was finally satisfied. Gently wrapping it up in a small intricate gift box that was very expensive, she wanted to make it look nice after all, she polished it off and picked it up. Naoto should be back from her trip soon, she had sent her to the store for some milk, pretending that she didn’t know it was her birthday so she could surprise her. The disappointed look on the detectives face was perfect, only because she knew that it meant she had fallen for Yukari’s trick.
Naoto reasoned with herself on the way to Junes. She shouldn’t really take the fact Yukari will know it’s her birthday for granted, and with that, she should not be disappointed. But she is and she feels childish because of it. She had a look of slight disappointment when she enter Junes. By the time she walks out, she’s just pouting slightly, wondering how is she going to give Yukari this information without making her lover feel bad about it.
As she reached the front door and digging around for her keys, she still have no answer to that. Managing to open the door finally and stepping into the house, she kicked off her shoes, calling out to the house. “I’m home. I got the milk~” It’s a whole new ritual, announcing her return, but one Naoto loves dearly.
Yukari smiled even more hearing her girlfriend come home, “In the kitchen.” She called out to the detective, she knew her little joke was cruel but she needed those few minutes to finish what she was doing, she just hoped that the detective liked her present. Smiling she waited in the kitchen in her favorite fancy dress, that’s right the white one.
The gift box was in front of her and she didn’t move, she wanted Naoto to see it, and her, when she came into the kitchen. Would she like the present? The anticipation of finding out was almost too much for the Lover.
Hearing the call, Naoto brought the milk to the kitchen. She wasn’t expecting anything, believing Yukari didn’t know what day today is. So when she enter the kitchen, she stilled the moment she saw Yukari. Surprised and shocked, Naoto simply blinked to take in what’s in front of her. Yukari in the white dress was a sight to behold by herself, and Naoto immediately wonders why she would wear it. The conclusion, of course, was simple to deduct, and only strengthen when she spy the delicate and detailed gift box on the table. Slowly breaking out of the shock, Naoto had to take a moment to recompose herself. Clearing her throat and not even trying to hide the wide smile across her face.
"So…" What can she say to this pleasant surprise? "I believe I have been tricked…" She shook the bottle of milk in her hand, which she places on the counter in the kitchen before walking over to the Lover by the table, a cheerful smile and a playful tone in her voice. "And tricking a detective is no easy work."
“Tricking a detective when they expect deciet is no easy work, however I needed that time so I asked for something plausible to get you out of the house for a bit.” Yukari said with a giggle and a wink. “When you live with, and are in love with, a detective it makes it quite easy to know how to trick them my love.”
Pushing the box slowly over to Naoto she kept her smile on her face, “Your present is inside, I hope you like it.” She was really nervous about this part, she had spent a few months on it, even starting over a couple of times, but she had made it by hand, she hoped that was what mattered.
Naoto chuckled and nodded. “An excellent ruse. If it’s you, I don’t mind being tricked a lot more.” She answers, leaning forward and pecked her forehead once before taking the box off the table. The gift box already looked like a treat by itself. Running a finger along the box, she can only wonder what’s inside as she slowly opens her present with care, making sure nothing was damaged on the outside.
Inside is a poorly crafted, although hand made badge, it also has underneath it a compilation of all of the Sherlock Holmes stories, She knew how much Naoto liked them. “I hope you like it my love, it took a while to make.” The blush on her cheeks showed her nervousness.
Naoto gently took out the badge, looking at it in finer details. It might not be the best badge she has seen, but it was still the best thing she had ever been gifted. She had only ever made one for herself, back when she was a child. Getting one from someone, handmade and carefully crafted, was a whole different story and shows it by leaning over and giving Yukari a slow kiss.
When she backed away, the smile was still there, if not even wider. “I love it.” She answered, before straightening up her shirt and pin it to her chest proudly. “How does it look?” She asked playfully.
“It looks wonderful, it’s on you after all.” She giggles happily, glad that the Fortune likes her gift. “I just wanted to make you something, anything I bought would have meant a lot less considering…..” She didn’t need or have to say that it was because she was rich, buying things had a lot less value to her.
Standing up slowly she walked over to Naoto and traced a finger along her cheek, “I’m glad you like it,” She leans forward and kisses the detectively on her lips.
"I think it looks wonderful because you made it." Naoto replied, adjusting it to sit like a real detective badge. "I’m your private detective, right?" She would have thought the idea absurd a year ago, but now… now it’s a title she don’t mind at all.
"You know I would have loved anything you got me. It’s the thought that counts, right?" The detective wrapped her arms around the Lover in a light hug, only leaning forward into the kiss given.
“Of course you are, your my personal detective!” She giggled and returned the hug, holding her gently and just happy to sit like this for a while. “Happy birthday my detective prince.”
"That’s right, I’m always on the case." She adjusted her hat and winked at her, just enjoying the time with her girlfriend. "Thank you for making this day memorable."
Summary: Some teasing turned into a brief discuss into a confession.
yukiko-senpai said: “You look cute as always Naoto~”
"Not you too Yukiko-senpai!" Naoto debates breaking down into tears as she covers her face with her hands.
"No really.. you do… There is no need to hide."
She isn’t used to people calling her cute, especially when she’s dressed as a girl. And comments from Yukiko, who is the defining star of Yasogami of feminine beauty, is an achievement of sort. Well, Naoto thinks so, after she gets over the whole ‘being called cute’ thing first. “But I-I’m not. You. Yukiko-senpai, you would look far better in these outfits than I ever will.”
Yukiko gave her a soft smile. “You just don’t think you are. I for one think you are plenty cute.. a-and uhm.. attractive.” A slight blush was appearing. “I-I don’t think I could ever forget how beautiful you are Naoto. A-And that is a fact.”
Forget how attractive she is? When has she- oh. Oh that’s right, that time they- as her mind remembers, it applies visuals and sounds of that night and her face grew steadily redder by the second. “You know, I believe the same can be said about you, senpai. You are as graceful and elegant as one could be, and stunningly beautiful to boot.” Despite how red her face is, Naoto gave her a small but sincere smile. “And that’s the truth.”
She let out a small sigh. “Naoto… Th-Thanks.” And then her blush deepened more. “Y-You know…” A brief pause as she tried to gather her thoughts. “N-No.. never mind, I’m just being silly.” She wasn’t about to let on about how sorely she missed her. “Anyways… I-It’s been awhile… how are you?”
Naoto watches her speak and can’t help but wonder what she was going to say. She have an idea what it might be, but never a confirmation on whether she was right or wrong. Maybe one day she’ll know. “I have been doing well, all things considered. Just a case to deal with. How about you? It’s been quite some time since we last spoken.”
"Y-Yeah… I’ve.." She choked on her words a little bit. "I’ve.. Well… You’ve been missed." Hopefully that was ambiguous enough to not draw suspicion upon herself and her actual intent. "I hope your case is going alright."
Naoto can feel her eyebrow raising just a bit in confusion and wonder. She can tell she’s hiding what she wants to say, the backtracking and stumbling of words seems to suggest there is more. Should she push it or not? “It is mutual, I believe I grew home sick very quickly nowadays.” Uncertain on what to say, Naoto settles on the direct route. “Is there something else, Yukiko-senpai? You…” It was her turn to stumble over words. How do one ask what the other is trying to say originally without sounding as awkward as she is now?
She nervously pulled at the hem of her skirt. “N-Naoto… I..” Yukiko was a mess of nerves and it was easily noticeable now. “This is so dumb… but… I more than missed you… i-if you know what I mean…” Her face was a fierce red now after revealing what was bothering her. “It’s embarrassing.. but.. after that night…. and then you were gone for so long. I.. I want to spend more time with you Naoto..”
Watching Yukiko turn into a bunch of nerves was a sight itself, usually so elegant, watching her turn so nervous was unusual. But the same can be said for her, and as the topic reveal itself, she understand why. Her face wasn’t any less red than the red Yukiko always wears. “I see… I-if I’m to be honest? It kind of stays in my mind. I mean that night…” She rubs her neck lightly, equally nerve wrecked. Last time was a spur of a moment and a whole lot of frustration, which is why it also stays in her mind a lot.
"I-I’m sorry…. this is probably really awkward for you…" She looked down at the ground, face entirely flushed. "It was stupid to even bring up." Silently hoping that Naoto at least felt the same way in wanting to be together and it wasn’t just a single night of frustration and passion.
"N-no, I don’t think it’s stupid…" The sleuth quickly injected. Making Yukiko feel stupid is the last thing she wants. "I think… I’m glad you brought up the subject again. So erm…" It is more touchy than before, probably aided by the fact that the night is now repeating in her mind. "D-do you…think… There is more than just… That night?" That took so much more to get out than one would think.
Her face turned up to look at Naoto, feeling slightly more confident. “O-Of course! I mean.. yeah.. there would be more than that.. A-At least… that’s how I feel…” She did her best to smile. “Naoto.. after that night… I just… I can’t get you out of my head.” She gently grabbed the detective’s hand. “W-Would you.. uhm..” Her confidence from before was quickly fading. “I want you to be m-mine. a-and… I… I really like you Naoto..”
She didn’t expect to hear the words, expected she had read the whole thing wrong. But here she is, holding her hand and her face turning just as red as hers. Of course, words at this point almost seems to fail Naoto so she gave the hand that’s holding hers a little squeeze and nodded. “I-I-I” The stuttering got worse as she try to get the words out, so she just kisses her hand and nods instead, her eyes utterly unable to stop staring at her shoes.
Yukiko’s heart rate increased tenfold when the girl in front of her kissed the back of her hand. She had no idea if that was a form of acceptance. It was, right? Seeing Naoto struggling she did the best thing she could, letting go of the girl’s hand Yukiko pulled her into a wordless hug, actions were going to speak louder than any of her words. Softly she rubbed the young girl’s back as she held her in a loving embrace.
Summary: Naoto was drawn into the Velvet Room and met a strange man named Igor. There, she discuss the issue with having a second Persona that's not under her control and maybe this Master of Personas can help her retain what little sanity she have left.
As Naoto entered, She noticed the room was entirely midnight blue…and it was a limousine room. In the back, was a strange looking man…He looked ancient and striking…”Welcome to the Velvet Room…”
Logically, this make no sense. For one, she entered from a street and into one end of a car. Stationary into a mobile vehicle in an instant. And if that in itself isn’t strange enough, by her view, the entrance was placed in the centre of the car. Did she enter via the boot of the limo?
Secondly, this figure before her is… his eyes, his nose… the way his fingers are interlocked. He seems… unnatural and the way he stares at her made her feel unease.
"So this is Velvet Room…" She mutters, eyes scanning around once more before settling on the figure. "And may I inquire who you are…?"
“My name is Igor…and I am delighted to make your acquaintance.”He saw knew that before him stood a youth of great intellect…Fortune’s detective. He was not a bit surprised at the detective’s reaction to him and the room at all. “This Room lies between dream and reality, mind and matter…”
Between dreams and reality? Mind and matter? What does that mean exactly? “So this is more a … metaphysical location rather than an actual location…?” That’s the most she can get from what he had told her thus far. Still confused, she asked what was on her mind next. “And what does that make you? A part of my imagination or someone with much greater power and responsibility…?”
“Indeed…*chuckle* This room is the birthplace of all personas…and I am their creator. The room lends itself to those with a unique ability…but I have worked to make it more accessable to those without the wildcard…You know of the power i speak of…for one of those you know has it.” As Igor had predicted, Naoto had deduced that this place, though a dream, was real…She was one of the few to have correctly deduced it.
Someone she knows has this unique ability… it doesn’t take a genius to realize whom Igor was referring to. “Senpai…” So this was previously something only Senpai can access. She took one more scanning glance around the room. “Creator of Personas…”
Turning her attention solely on Igor now, Naoto isn’t sure what else to say. She have questions, lots of it but she don’t know if she can ask, or should ask. Some questions are closer to home than she wished it to be.
“Indeed…He had the power of the wildcard…that is how he could use many personas…and I see you have some things to ask me…What would you like to know?” Igor could see she had somethings to ask…and he didn’t mind questions at all…
"Is it possible for someone to have two Personas at once without being unique like senpai? Wildcard ability, I believe you had called it?" There was almost an urgency to her question as she asked quickly. "Or for that matter, a being of supernatural power forcing their way to become someone’s Persona?"
“My first sets of guests could use many personas…but it seems that humans with that ability are few…As for a supernatural being forcing their way into a being’s persona, yes I have seen instances of it. Why do you ask?”
She briefly wondered how many guests has Igor been host of… but she pushed that as an afterthought, something to wonder about when she didn’t have such a break to possibly answering her most important question.
"I… might have a problem." She answer after a moment of thought. "Has their been a Persona that has… gotten out of the user’s control before as well? As in, it refuses to listen to the host order and do as they had wished before?"
In the back of her mind, if she concentrate enough she can see a card flashing around, a voice laughed at her desperation for answers.
“That has happened only twice to my knowledge…Once the Persona overwhelmed the human temporarily…and the second time…the persona got out of control and killed someone….What you speak of is rare. As for Personas not listening to their host…I have never heard of that before…Is Sukona Hikona doing this?”
Upon hearing his answer, Naoto expression turned to one of unease. Unsettled and troubled. She tried to brush it aside. “If it had been Sukuna-Hikona, I believe things would be far easier…”
Wondering if it’s possible to show him, she stretched out a hand and focused, a single blue card appear after a long moment, it’s shape transparent and flickering, as if it doesn’t want to exist in this space. Feeling jabs of pain in her head, she ignored it in favor of holding to the corner of the fading card, flipping it over to show an almost alien-like Persona on it.
"I … might have done something wrong somewhere in my search for attempting to evolve Sukuna-Hikona. A mistake I’m very well of."
The card itself simply showed the Persona, however, a name seems to hang invisibly about the space: Amatsu Mikaboshi.
“Hmm…Amatsu Mikaboshi, the god of evil and stars?…Most interesting. Personas normally evolve when someone finds their resolution…How Sukona Hikona, or Yamato-Takeru turned into him…I actually cannot say…but this one has a skill called ability tune…Interesting…”Igor had never heard of someone trying to manually evolve theri persona before…
"That’s the thing…" Naoto held out her other hand. "I didn’t succeed in evolving him, although I won’t deny there was attempt to." In contrast, the appearance of the second card was easy, the card was solid, lacking the flickering quality of the first card. She gently gripped it and flip it over, displaying Sukuna-Hikona on the front.
"I don’t remember how I came into contact with Amatsu Mikaboshi, or how he had became my Persona. I do know, however, was that not long after his appearance, I have done… terrible deeds." She tries to admit, the memory will forever haunt her dreams. "Much like the example you gave me previously."
Naoto tightened both hands into fists, crushing both cards, the moment which her head stopped pounding in her ears. “If I may inquire… what happened in that example you gave me? In regards to a Persona out of control and killing someone, you had mentioned?”
“The human who had control of the persona Castor lost control of it…and killed someone during a shadow hunting mission…It has haunted him greatly since then…But I believe I may be able to help…I create all personas.” Igor got up…and despite being old…he was taller than Kanji. He walked over and put his hand on the card, bestowing it with some warmth and giving Naoto some control over it…”It will recognise you as it’s master soon…Just as Vishnu has recognized me…”
Naoto nodded at the brief explanation to what happened to that particular Persona user. She understood. She understood greatly. She did the exact same thing, except it was to ones closest to her and now, she’s just living with the incident heavily in her mind.
She watches him stand up. With him seated, she couldn’t tell but he was tall. Much taller than anyone she had ever met. His proportion seems off but she didn’t have time to dwell on it when he placed his hand over hers and in turn, over the persona card in her hand.
"I hope so." She sighed, feeling the warmth that passes through the card. "I dearly hope so. I don’t want to hurt anyone. I already did enough damage…" Chie comes to mind. Chie always comes to mind. "Maybe I can start fixing things once I have him under control…"
“Indeed…I wish you luck in gaining control over him…He is a difficult one to control…but he should listen to you a bit more now. Is there anything else you would like to know? Miss Shirogane of the Fortune arcana?”
Nodding, she tighten her hand into fist and the card shatters and fade away, yet not summoned. With a sigh of relieve, Naoto looks up at Igor. Strange as the meeting is, it had helped to know there is someone out there that went through the same thing, and the extra comfort he had brought.
"I assume questioning how you knew my name is a null point." He is the creator of Personas and the master of this strange space. "But… Fortune Arcana? What do you mean by that?"
“All personas can be classified by the arcana fo tarot…all beings can be as well…it determines our experiences in life…My fourth guest, Yu Narukami was of the Fool at first..and then became the world…I am the Hermit although I too posess the wildcard…you are of the Fortune arcana. Personas of different arcana have different abilities.”
"Fortune…" Naoto repeated, then chuckled drily. "Rather ironic that I don’t seems to have much fortune despite being of that Arcana…" She blinked tiredly.
“The wheel of fortune is always turning…what may be a bleak time now, may turn into a memorable time later…that is the nature of fortune. Mine is to be a guide to those who the room chooses…or those my master chooses. It is not always apparent at first…but it will be.” Naoto had Igor’s sympathy…Igor had relatively no life outside the Velvet Room…
"I don’t know it turning into a memorable time, Mr Igor… only if I can fix my mistake can it be anything but a burden I carry." And that’s unlikely to happen and she knows it. But she forced a smile anyway. "Although I believe I have done enough self-pitying and should start working towards my first goal: have Amatsu Mikaboshi under control."
Pausing just a moment, Naoto grew somewhat curious. “Would you… happen to know the arcana of Chie-sen- urm… Chie Satonaka? Assuming such information is available due to senpai was linked to each of us as it appears to be?”
"Indeed…Each of you has an arcana…Hers is the Chariot. A bringer of victory…Yosuke the Magician, Yukiko the Priestess, Kanji the Emperor, Miss Kujikawa the lovers, and Teddie the Star…He appeared here briefly during the Midnight channel incident." Igor’s grin did not let up having interested her in the arcana that governed everyone…that was the means to which all was revealed.
Summary: A new idol is in town and ... and somehow they are now 'married' for a week. Naoto don't think she will last long with all of Riku's teasing.
idolrikkun said: Riku hugs the way smaller Naoto from behind and pressed his cheeks against hers. “Come onn~ If you react that cute, it’s just way too much fun to stop teasing you! I am sorry.” He giggled. “Okay, only just a little.”
If anything, Naoto’s cheeks just got even hotter. Riku might feel that, being as this close. “I-I’m not cute!” Naoto declares loudly before words just dying in her throat and she just covers her face with her hands.
Riku felt Naoto burning up and giggled even more, was tempted to place a small peck on the bluenette’s cheek to catch her even more off guard, but he did not want her to faint or anything. “Yes you are! Of course you are. If my female self fell for you, you can be pretty sure you are. I mean, not only the way you look, but also the way you act. Besides, it’s somehow really.. calming to hug you.”
With each rebuttal, Naoto became more speechless to respond. She almost start flailing in Riku’s arms. “Y-your counterpart would find m-me… cute?” Is that a baffling question or a hopeful one, Naoto isn’t sure anymore. “Well… hugging activity isn’t too bad.” She admit. Having someone hugging her from behind was… odd, but the feeling is almost one of safety. Like he got her back. Which he does…
Maybe a change of subject is required before this line of thought breaks her mind completely.
"So… we have a whole week…huh?"
“Well, I do, so I bet she would as well!” He pressed against her a little further, chuckled at the obvious difference in their height. Granted, Riku was the tallest from ‘his’ group of friends, so he actually had to hunch down a little to hug the female. “Sure it isn’t, isn’t it nice to have someone close? After all you cannot live without some human contact.”
In contradiction to his words, he let go of the detective and winked at her. “Yup, a whole week it seems. I promise to be a good husband. Or am I the wife? I can put on an apron if you want.”
"Wait-you-" Naoto stops herself, because while she’s never going to get used to being called ‘cute’, arguing as such would probably just run in circles. Beside that, his hugs are nice. Not something she’s used to from Rise, but… nice too, even if she feels shorter than ever. "True but not many would hug me, per se…" Maybe it’s because she looks so serious all the time.
Except now, because she swear he’s doing this on purpose, enjoying the reaction he’s getting. “You get the apron, I get the suit.”
Well, she has to try even the table somehow…
“Ohhh, I just thought of something awesome, Nao-Chan. I mean, sure, you always look so dead serious, but I don’t see that much right now.” A wide grin spreading on his face, he slowly approached her again and crouched before here. “How about I carry you on my shoulders a bit? You can look down on everyone then.”
“Figures. I think the apron does suit me better, so I will fetch that for you and me. But I won’t cook for you, sorry. But aside from that, I’m going to be a good and loving wife.” Oh, he was so going to enjoy this.
She don’t look serious right now? Maybe it’s the fact she’s still feeling a little flustered, although that’s fading. Somewhat. And then he had to go and suggest this, doesn’t he? “I’ll… pass.” She hesitated for a moment. Being seen carried on someone’s shoulders sounds utterly embarrassing and not to mention childish, no matter how curious it would be of the changed perspective.
And hearing the agreement was a surprise. So was the fact that he won’t cook. If what Rise made can knock someone out with one bite, Naoto can’t imagine what Riku’s can do. “We can just order takeouts then.” She haven’t cooked for herself in a while, and frankly, cooking for someone with her questionable cooking skills is a bit too much risks, more than Naoto would take.
"And I guess I’m the loving husband then." A pause, then a small playful smile. "Riku Shirogane then?"
Riku pouted at the shorter one, still crouched and now somewhat of her height. “You see, that is why you appear so serious, you need to have some fun sometimes, Nao-Chan!” Then he lifted her without a warning, giggling to himself. When she refused to sit on his shoulders, then this would also do good. The height difference came in handy, as Naoto was super easy to lift.
“Sounds fine to me!” Then a slight blush formed on his face, and he pressed Naoto against him. “Riku Shirogane! Yeah, I like the sounds of that. But Naoto Kujikawa also has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it. Oh, oh, and Rise Shirogane of course.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
"But that’s——!" Whatever Naoto was about to say was gone, replaced by the sound of a yelp as she was lifted off her feet. He really is tall. "S-stop-!" She tried but was soon overtaken by the fact she can see a whole lot more at that height. She had always loved high places and this was quite something…
As the protest dies in her throat, she glances up at Riku as he brought up Rise again. She never really thought of changing her name, always thinking about how the Shirogane name will end with her. But… Rise Shirogane? Her face was bright red again. Damn he’s good… “It’s a good name…” She admits with a mumble, but then her eyes shot up and the playfulness remain. Just wait until she finds out who he likes… “Why, are you jealous of your female counterpart, my dear wife?” Even as she says this, not quite believing she just did, her face just got more flustered.
Riku gave her a “I totally knew you were going to like it”-look and smiled a fitting grin while doing so. Who could resist being at a high place, when being chained to the ground with such a tiny figure? Fun thing is, that Naoto’s male counterpart was not even that small, the smallest of the boys though, however. Briefly wondered how they were doing.
“Hm?” He raised his brows, and it seemed she caught him off guard a little. “No, I just feel like you like her, that’s all. And knowing how your male counterpart ticks, I figured to give you some pushs. I mean, Naoko would never admit to like someone, so I guess you would not either? Besides, I want my friends happy, no matter of what gender, or universe!” Then he bursted out in a laugh.
“You called me ‘dear wife’, hah! So, yeah, I’m not jealous, lovely husband.“
Naoto, taking her eyes at staring in wonders around her new found height, glanced back at Riku and spot the look in his eyes. She gave his face a shove. “Oh don’t you give me that look.” She crossed her arms and pout.
It seems Riku has hit the nails on the head. Naoto refuses to comment on that -answering a question on her stubbornness by being stubborn, but her face did get a bit pink again. This week is going to be unbearable with how well he reads her. She briefly wonders about her own counterpart. What was he like…? From the sounds of it, a lot like her. But glancing at Riku, she doubts he likes the same person she does.
"Right, lovely wife, I think it’s time we head home… wherever we decide that is?” She silently hope it’s not her apartment because it’s a disaster and a disgrace…
“Hm, what? That one?” He made it once again, just to tick her off. As much fun to tease as her counterpart, which was more open minded than she was, and knew how to get close to others, but in return, he barely let anyone get near him. Well, figures, as it’s easier to hide that you are a girl when playing a boy, than it was the other way around. In fact, if he wasn’t aware that everything here was switched around, he might have mistaken Naoto for a boy as well.
“Oh, I don’t know..”
“I mean, I just kinda got lost here, it’d be weird to show up at Grandpa’s place.. or Grandma that is, because another Rise might be living there? So, I guess it’s gonna be your place then? I promise, I will keep it clean, after all that’s what the wife does, right?”
"Yes, that." She knew he was doing it on purpose and that arguably made it worse. "You’re sleeping on the couch if you do it again." She declares, although she have no plan to enact that threat. Can’t let a guest sleep on the couch after all, and definitely not a whole week. They’ll have to figure something out then… but right now, she kept her arms crossed but her attention was drawn by her surroundings soon enough.
She raises an eyebrow at him. Well, it made sense, they definitely can’t stay over at Rise’s place, it would be odd… very very odd. “I guess that does limit our option to my apartment.” So much for a miracle. “Very well. Let’s head home… that way.” She helpfully pointed towards the direction of her apartment, seeing as he still haven’t put her down.
He wrote a note in his mind that said ‘I know what you want look pisses Naoto of, use it more in the future’, but was nice enough to not use it anymore, as he was afraid she might just snap, jump from his arms and run off. Oh, right, he was still holding her, and they were slowly catching other people’s attention with that. Well, no intention to let her down yet, though. The detective prince carried by a stranger through town - yeah, that’d make people gossip. A rural town like Inaba lived from that, he knew too well.
“I do not mind the sofa, I am happy when I don’t end up on the floor. Or is our relationship going well enough already to share a bed? I can keep you warm, see?” He somewhat hugged her while walking into the direction the bluenette pointed out, hearing some ‘awww’s over there when he pulled her closer. “If you want me to put you down, just say so, then maybe I’ll do it.”
Honestly, Naoto had planned to sleep on her couch herself. It’s not as if she haven’t done so before. Mannerism dictates it’s impossible for her to let someone staying over to sleep on anything but a bed, least of all the floor. “We’ll see by the rest of your behavior tonight.” She reaches up and patted his head. The fact she can gives her some glee and she messed up his hair on purpose.
That glee, of course, made the idea of being put down slightly less appealing. “I don’t know… I don’t trust the ‘maybe’ in your sentence. Why, do you enjoy having me in your arms?” She will get him flustered at least once this week or die trying…
“Wooah, tonight, huh?” He liked the sounds of that, and he was grateful Naoto allowed him to stay. Honestly, he would have had no idea where to go. Visit his other self? ‘Oh, I kinda got lost in this alternative universe, and I don’t wanna be a homeless hobo, so may I come in?’ He could pull it of, sure, but he liked how things were progressing right now. Riku giggled and flushed when Naoto messed his hair up, did not bother to adjust it. How could he, he was still carrying her.
“Oh, it’s simple. I like to hold people I like close, when I hold them like this, I know they won’t go away. Stay a little. It’s like an insurance, see?” As usual, there was a smile on Riku’s face, and a hum between words, and he phrased it as if it was the most natural thing to say, however, his behavior resulted from him being afraid to end up alone. Having people around him, having them close - he needed that. His shadow made him realize how bad he did.
“Besides, you are easy to carry, and I feel like you fit in my arms perfectly.”
"Tonight, if you get a good grade." Naoto isn’t even sure what she meant herself but Riku have absolutely no need to know that. Although what she does know is seeing him react a little require teasing. Even if she don’t know how. "Oh, seems like you like having your hair messed up." And she grinned, playfully. "Or do you just like being petted?" … Naoto Shirogane, master of teasing…
"So hugging is an insurance policy?" That’s a new way to think about hugging people, that’s for sure. Naoto also isn’t sure what to think of sales people with insurance either now. But the main question this raises, beyond the jokes and teases (or attempt thereof) was how did he came to this conclusion. She knew he is someone that wanted people to be close to him. She can tell by how he acted around her, drawing her in, making her stay. But what happened in-between…?
Summary: It turns out, Naoto didn’t do a very thorough job at killing someone and now she’s back. For revenge? Naoto hope so.
Killer in Me Timeline | The Aftermath:
Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV
The last thing Yukiko remembered was struggling to stay awake at Naoto’s apartment. Beyond that everything was a blur, and her head was pounding. She did a quick look around of her surroundings, she appeared to be in the woods down a small hill, and it seemed to be midday, maybe a little later. Her clothes were dirty and slightly torn, most likely from being dropped and pushed down the hill.
“What happened last night… Did Naoto do this…? What has gotten into her…”
She searched her pockets but couldn’t seem to find her phone. Getting up she struggled to get up the hill, her legs feeling weak, reaching the top she could sort of make out the edge of the trees in the distance and she could feel her stomach rumble.
“I should probably eat… but I’ll probably alarm people if I show up looking like this… and I need answers… why did this happen”
Deciding against going to get food she became determined to find Naoto and trekked her way out of the woods to get her bearings and made her way to Naoto’s. When she got to her door she pounded and started to yell.
"Naoto! What is going on? Why… Why did I just wake up on the woods? What has gotten into you?!"
If there is one thing Naoto is good at, it’s hiding. Physically, mentally, emotionally, she functions by hiding. She had been trapping herself in her apartment for a few days now and no one had taken notice of the missing detective.
She spend her day on the couch, doing nothing but clench her head or she spend it sitting under the shower, blasting cool water at herself. Whatever it takes to make everything remotely better, and yet she don’t quite feel like she deserve to be better. She haven’t eaten in a while, she haven’t slept in a while and she isn’t sure if she’s doing it because there is a raging war in her head, or she’s just punishing herself for being weak.
Whatever it is, she knows nothing will erase what she did.
The old revolver glint in the dim light from the window. She haven’t touched it since she left it there, that day she stumbled back, somehow alive and awake.
The knocking snapped her attention to the door. Knocking was putting it politely, but Naoto’s in no mind to think about that. She recognized the voice and she held her head again, laughing quietly to herself. “This can’t be…”
But then… who could it be?
Without hesitation, she reached for the door. Didn’t bother to be cautious, didn’t want to be either. She yanked the door open then stared at the person before her in utter, quiet, shock.
"Yukiko…?" She let out in a breath, not remembering when she actually start holding it.
Seeing Naoto standing there looking like a wreck caused Yukiko to gasp a bit. “N-Naoto…?” She almost dropped her guard before remembering what had happened the night before? days before? She wasn’t even sure what day it was anymore.
"W-What happened! Why was I in the woods. What is going on? You’re the last thing I remembered. Please. Please tell me! I don’t even know what day it is!"
She began to cry as she was yelling at Naoto, she was beyond furious as to what had happened. She couldn’t even remember anything. She had to control herself from the impulse to hit Naoto. “Calm down Yukiko… you should hear what she has to say first…”
"What, what is going on?! Why me?"
Watching her look, the way she react… it all made Naoto laugh quietly as she leans against the doorframe of her front door.
"Wow, I think I might have snapped…" She answered before looking at Yukiko again, her eyes are hardly focusing. "Oh and today is… Wednesday, I think?"
Shoulders still shaking from the humorless laughter, she took a step back and almost tumbled over by her own wobbly legs. She have almost no sense of coordination at all.
"And what happened was… I killed you. I think. Maybe. I don’t know… how are you here again?" She’s not making much sense, except she is, to her own mind. "Amatsu Mikaboshi is a cruel God indeed, if he sends you here to remind me of my own crime."
"A-Are you laughing? Why are you laughing?!" Yukiko felt beyond mad at that. Then Naoto’s explanation to what had happened confused her to no end.
"K-Killed me? What do you mean killed me?” She couldn’t control it any longer and began to lose it. “Do I seem dead to you? That doesn’t even matter. You tried to kill me?!” She shoved Naoto backwards. “I-I don’t… I…” Her eyes were becoming red as she started to cry out of angry and frustration feeling their friendship had been broken.
"I thought we were friends Naoto…. How could you do this…"
Yukiko collapsed on the floor an emotional mess unsure of what to feel or think. Everything felt like it was spinning. “Why….”
The outburst, she expected. The anger, she expected. The confusion, she expected. Even the shove or a punch, she expected it. What she didn’t really expect was the way her body tumbles back with the shove and the distance made the back of her head smack against the edge of her small coffee table.
The pain was a jolt and an awakening pain. Hallucination, she had started to realize, are very realistic but usually disappear when pain overrides them. With the agony spreading across her head, she watched Yukiko from where she lie and realize, a little belatedly, that this is really Yukiko.
And her chest tightens immensely at that.
On one hand, she’s delighted. Beyond delighted that Yukiko is alive. She haven’t killed her after all! She would be up and singing praises about miracles if not for the fact that she also feel like taking her revolver and just shoot herself in the head at this very moment.
"Yukiko I…" What else can she say? Sorry? Yea, like that will ever work. Things she did that cannot be erased. She chewed on her lips harshly, not even daring to meet her eyes.
With a deep sigh, Naoto decide to remain lying on the floor, eyes moving to stare at her plain white ceiling. “Amatsu Mikaboshi. My new Persona. God of Evil. He wanted to break people, hurt people, especially me. I can’t control him but he can control me. He did…” She took another breath, the pain in her head is incredible, but Naoto suspect it’s more from the raging battle inside, where Sukuna-Hikona try to fend off the other. It’s the only way to keep her thinking clearly.
"Whether you believe me or not, it doesn’t matter. I tried, I did, I await whatever you can throw at me. You can beat me up, use up everything I have or even-" She glances up at the coffee table, where the gun still sat. "Get your revenge. At this point… I don’t care anymore."
Yukiko stared at Naoto on the ground in front of her. “N-Naoto…” She couldn’t believe she had even pushed her down. She wasn’t sure what was happening and when she saw the girl look up to the gun her eyes went wide. “I-I could never do that… I’m mad… really mad.. b-but.. I couldn’t kill you because of it… I want to forgive you..”
She stood up from where she was on the floor moving to Naoto. “I….. Naoto… I don’t think I’ll ever understand why.. I’m not sure I want to. But..” She extends her hand out to her. “I think we can fix this… I hope we can fix this…” Yukiko herself wasn’t sure why she was being so nice, she was still furious deep down, but something told her it wouldn’t happen again, that maybe Naoto deserved the second chance. “I… I want to fix this.”
Naoto didn’t think that far ahead. Then again, she didn’t think Yukiko was still alive either. But now, here she was… and she was offering her hand. A second chance. Naoto can’t quite believe her eyes, almost ready to believe this is a dream again, but the ache to her head was pulsing and she knew it wasn’t.
She looked at the offered hand. Just stared at it. Millions of thoughts run through her mind at once, but the main one was yelled across from the back, where Sukuna-Hikona fought to keep it quiet.
'Do you deserve it?'
That, unfortunately, was an easy answer. No. She doesn’t.
Even with this unexpected turn of events, Naoto knows she can’t accept a second chance. Not yet. Not when she can’t be certain if she can keep everything in check. It was a delicate balance at the moment, and if it tips too far, if she feeds the God of Evil too much fuel, allow him to break away from Sukuna-Hikona or any number of reason he would win then…
"I-I can’t. Not yet. I don’t deserve your help…" She shifted, raised herself on her elbows. "I have to… get full control over him before I can do anything again…"
Tired as she is, head pounding in her head, mind far too loud to think, to sleep, Naoto tried to smile back at Yukiko. “Maybe one day…”
Yukiko stared at her somewhat blankly. She could tell Naoto was having some internal war with herself over this. She still kept her hand out in front of her. “That one day can be today. I… I know what you did was bad… really bad, I’m sure there’s plenty of reason to why, but I can see you’re in pain and struggling…”
She pulled back her hand as she moved a little closer to the young detective, kneeling to get on her level and to look her right in the eyes. “You will have this second chance… and now… now I want to help you.” She was determined to pull her friend out of this mess. “To fix what happened if I can, we went through a lot together already, we can get through this, I’m sure.” She smiled the best she could in light of how serious things were, trying to be reassuring.
Naoto don’t know what to do. She had worked of expectations. Of her own assumption and, up to a few minutes ago, her own imagination. Everything from the beginning of opening the door to when she was pushed down, it had played out perfectly as she had thought. She found a comfort in Yukiko’s hate, of her anger.
Which is rather ironic, when all she wanted was to apologize and be forgiven. It turns out, even when a second chance is offered, the one that can’t forgive her, was herself.
Naoto watched her withdraw the hand and got closer. Kneel down right next to her. She sat up in response, lying her back against the table’s edge.
'Now … now I want to help you.'
That’s just about the last straw she can take.
She turned her head down sharply, refusing to meet Yukiko’s eyes as her shoulders shook. It took all her will power not to make a sound, but no power is strong enough to close down the dam her words had broken. The tears just rolled down from her eyes, pass her cheeks and drops from her chin to the shirt collar where it gets absorbed.
"I’m so sorry…" She manage to choke out in between the shaking of her own body. She had completely lost control of her own emotions again.
Yukiko kept her gaze on her young friend until she saw her look away, then she noticed the tremble and soon the tears to follow. Seeing Naoto break down like that nearly pushed her to the brink herself after this whole ordeal.
"N-Naoto… it’s… I’m sure it’s going to be okay…"
She did the only thing she could think of in that situation, she hugged the detective. And began to cry slightly herself, she wanted everything to be fixed, to become better.
"We’re going to make it okay."
She clung to her tighter letting her own emotions break down again.
She wants to believe. She really wanted to believe everything can go back to the way it was. But there is a voice, distant but strong and steady, is telling her it won’t be. She can never undo the things she did. The most she can do now is keep facing the consequence of her own action. Of her own weakness.
The sobs that wrecked through her body was quiet, almost silent. Instead of listening to her own harsh breathing, she’s listening to Yukiko’s. She don’t ever want to listen to herself anymore, so she focused. Focused as hard as she can to pick up the sound of the body engulfing hers in a warmth she have completely forgotten possible. She had fallen far enough to never dream of being hugged again, but here she is and she sinks into her arms.
"I can’t forgive myself. I don’t want to." She choked out, took in a deep shaky breath in return that went in all wrong, causing her to cough. "He’s still in here." She shoved a palm against the side of her own head, hard, like that would get him out. "C-can you…" She don’t know how to finish the sentence. She don’t know if there is a way to even say what she wanted, or know what she wanted to begin with.
Summary: A Shadow confronts the parasite living off it’s host’s mind. A fight that span through reality to dreams, going further than any other battle has ever gone. Amatsu-Mikaboshi against Amatsu-Mikaboshi. There’s no winner in such a battle.
Other notes: Jumps back and forth, it’s pretty long and somewhat existential, goes from literal to metaphorical to everything else in between. Just messy unless you know what happened to Naoto, what a Shadow is and the connection this particular Shadow have with her.
Shivering in his alternate form, Amatsu Mikaboshi, Kage crept up to Naoto and gripped the sides of her head between his long, slender fingers. Though he lacked any real expression, it was obvious that Naoto’s lack of marbles had caused some unwanted results in her psyche as well. Rows of deformed fangs grew out of a twisted grin as he pressed his hands into her temples, “There’s something wrong with you, host-kun…” his voice echoed, “Maybe… if I squeeze hard enough, you’ll stop…”
The hands against her head hurts, which is just as well, it reflects the pounding in her ears perfectly. The creature before her was familiar. Far too familiar for her to fear. Instead, she reached her own hands up, gripping the arms with strength that wasn’t available to a simple human structure. A transparent figure appears, overlaying her own, staring back at him with equally inhuman eyes.
"A shard shouldn’t be talking so big…"
Two…
Like staring back into a mirror, Kage’s shivering grew worse as the proper apparition of Amatsu Mikaboshi appeared before him. Indeed, being disconnected from Naoto’s psyche had caused Kage’s own transformation to take on some wild, uncontrollable behaviors. But the one before him now… at least knew what it was doing. His hands were quickly pulled away from Naoto’s skull from the duel strength the two of them shared, and Kage’s grin settled into a snarl.
“Dependent trash…” his voice whistled out.
It was obvious Naoto isn’t in control of this situation at all. She wasn’t even in control of herself, her mind heavy and chained down, as if she’s drowning. Her mouth moved anyway, uttering words that’s not her own as much as they are hers.
"Useless shards." Her voice was still there, steady and indifferent, but overlapped by a much deeper voice that growled like a beast. "There is no point for your existence. Why waste your useless life for this fruitless encounter."
Their strength is equal, even though there is no way Naoto’s own limb can have so much power in them. Her eyes under the apparition doesn’t blink. Her body’s movement is reminisce of the movement of a puppet; jerky, unstable and unnatural.
Mikaboshi breathed out heavily and shoved Kage’s arms away from Naoto’s head. "Get out of our way."
The moment his arms were thrust out of the way, Kage’s skull took sudden forward momentum and sent the blunt protrusion on his forehead against Naoto’s brow. The shocking jolt was enough to make him slightly dizzy as well, his psyche easily affected by hers. However, his toes gripped into the ground as he took a defensive stance, ready to catch whatever counter his possessed host threw back at him.
“I’m not useless…!” he shouted back between bared fangs, obviously taking the most insult out of that phrase. It was something he, as Naoto’s Shadow, had always lamented endlessly over. “Y-you… You’re the fake here…! You shouldn’t even be. You know host-kun doesn’t want you, nor does she appreciate your taking over of her mind.” His fingers clenched into clawed fists. That was right… wasn’t it? Surely Naoto wouldn’t actually accept something like this as a part of her…
The impact made her head ached more and she groaned slightly, a sound so quiet, it’s impossible to hear over the roar of the angry god who’s moving her like a puppet. She can barely hear the words being spoken by the Shadow, Mikaboshi’s voice bellowing so loudly all around her and inside her skull.
"I don’t care what she appreciates or not. She doesn’t control me. It was I who tolerate her presence!" He replied back swiftly. Naoto took a step forward and swung her arm out at Kage, the overlapping slender arm of Mikaboshi moved exactly as it did, trying to slap the Shadow away. "You… a little shard that had fallen from a person, thinks you are important to her? Don’t make me laugh. She doesn’t care for you, or for I. She simply doesn’t care about anyone."
Kage’s hand lifted up and took the blow from the dual Naoto/Mikaboshi’s arm, quickly throwing it out of the way. He stepped back as the other advanced forwards, trying to restrain himself from dishing out more unnecessary violence. His body shook for more of it, but inwardly, Kage knew that there was some underlying problem that had to be dealt with here. He wanted to fight back… so… badly. Having to resist it was awful.
“No, she cares…” he bristled lightly, forcing down the body that leered with agitation, “If it’s not about me… then I don’t mind. But host-kun has plenty of people in her life that try to look out for her. They care for her…” his face contorted into a worse snarl, “And I don’t know what you’ve done to her, but the host-kun I know will always appreciate and care for those people…!”
Mikaboshi snorted, a movement that Naoto didn’t follow. She lurches forward, her eyes dully staring at the floor. “Do you believe you know her as well as I do, little shard? Have you seen her do the things I have? She enjoyed every second of it, you can practically tell from her eyes~ hurting her so called friends was just the icing on the cake.”
At his words, Naoto looks up, still staring at something very far and distant away, still obviously not all there. But she grins and it was such a wide, malicious grin that it almost matches the one on Mikaboshi’s own face. "I didn’t simply picked her out of a hat to become my host. She already has all the darkness and evil in her heart that the irony simply calls to me…"
Still she lurches on, her arms dangling from either side of her body, though if anyone is paying attention, her hands is slowly forming into fists, twitching one muscle at a time, struggling to steady itself.
Kage leered back, having a difficult time coping with what this creature was saying. How disconnected had he become from his own host…? It was unfortunate to think that there was nothing he could do for her if these were her true wishes, but with Mikaboshi settled comfortably within her mind, it was impossible for the little Shadow to tell whose desires belonged to who. Even his own were starting to fall into question.
Standing up a bit straighter, Kage stared down at the jagged fingers that extended from his hands, his tongue also brushing against the needle sharp fangs in his mouth. “I want to know her better…” he spoke, his voice going calm, “I’ve obviously fallen out of line as her Shadow. I can’t even tell your thoughts from hers, and that leaves me worried. If she truly prefers your presence over mine, then as you said, there really won’t be a reason for me to exist. Why I’m still here in general is certainly worth questioning…” his gaze fell, “If those are her true thoughts, anyways…”
He could feel it, though. The connection that this beast had to Naoto’s mind was, even if by force, far greater than the one that Kage could have ever had. And more than that, Mikaboshi had her own body under his command… Was this a lost cause from the beginning? Kage shook his head, “However, I won’t believe a word of it until I hear it from my host herself, not you… If this is the path in life that she wishes to travel on, then I have no other choice but to follow her on it. If she wishes to kill, then so do I…” his hands clenched into fists, “Even if I’m nothing but dead-weight to her now.”
"Very well…" The body suddenly jerks up, standing up straight. Naoto remained silent for a moment and so did the apparition of Mikaboshi. Even if it doesn’t appear anything is happening, the mind is becoming more pressed. Invisible pressure exerting on her mind as it’s being pulled at again.
"I…" She spoke, her mouth gaping for a moment, trying to find words. A script written across her eyes, telling her what to say. It was her voice, but one that doesn’t sound genuine and the ‘Persona’ knows it.
What came next was a jumble of sensation. All this time, it had appeared as if she was drowning, not in control, tugging at by strings to move along. She had fallen into Mikaboshi’s grip and he had kept his cage strong. Though now he need her awake, Naoto spend a moment confused before snapping back to what she perceive is reality.
Her eyes glinted with a dully but alive in the base’s dim light. She blinked and took a deep breath. Script was still written in her mind, Mikaboshi carefully watches for her to say, even if she knew none of the context. But that’s just the thing Naoto needed. Anything to oppose against the one creature inside her that has tormented her up now is a victory in and of itself. He still need her to escape his prison and any wrong move will jeopardize such a rare chance.
Naoto know this well enough by now, which is why she can rebel against the impossible.
"I might have some hidden violent and possibly evil thoughts in my mind, but I don’t care any less for people YOU made me hurt!" She shouted in one breath, because the next was choked as the Persona reacted violently to her destruction of his planned script.
Her hand moved on it’s own to grip at her own throat as the Persona growled at her and at Kage.
Kage stood still, his steady stance and analytical stare showing how much doubt he had that the Naoto speaking before him was really the one he knew. It wasn’t difficult at all to believe that her very words were just another game of puppetry by Mikaboshi… however… if that was the case, then why didn’t this beast speak through her voice all the time? No, it definitely sounded like Naoto… and then, when she outright stated that it had indeed been Mikaboshi’s fault for forcing into all of this, that was the final clue. Naoto didn’t wish for any of this. She didn’t want her feelings to drive her that far; to hurt people, to kill… No, that was all an act. Mikaboshi’s own desires mixed into her own, which, as any Shadow generally displayed, was an over exaggerated mutation of the truth.
Kage quickly reeled forwards as her hand came to her throat, an act that obviously wanted her own will or doing. Mikaboshi had become enraged, and that was the last thing either of them needed right now. Reaching up, he grabbed at Naoto’s arm with both of his and tried to pry her hand away from her neck. If her grip was so strong that neither of his hands could pull it away, then he would have to resort to worse tricks. Knocking her unconscious was an option… He hoped that with her mind out of commission, so would Mikaboshi’s hold on it be.
“I’m here, host-kun…! Please, listen to my words and remember… this creature isn’t you! It doesn’t have to be a part of you, and I know you have all the will-power needed to force it out!” his hands gripping and pulling at hers shook, “You’re stronger than this… thing!”
Even if everything that he was saying was false and wishful assumptions, he knew they had to be said. Words could do a lot for a person. They could build courage and determination, and such feelings alone could help build her will-power against Mikaboshi. However… she had to be willing to let the beast go in the first place. Guaranteed, though. If Kage could ever get this monster into a one-on-one playing field, he wouldn’t hold back his aggression for anything. But with it still attached to Naoto… that was impossible.
The grip from Kage was strong enough to wrench her hand from her own throat, her fingers have dug deep enough to leave scratch marks along her skin. She took in a deep breath, gasping quickly before her other hand shot out in a punch towards Kage.
She’s feeling again, remembering where she was and what’s happening, one deduction at a time. She’s back at the base, she’s facing…. what appears to be Mikaboshi, but with a voice that sounded more like hers. It was unsettling, deeply disturbing to the sleuth. The visual alone almost set her mind reeling in disgust, digging up the old thoughts and believe that deep down somewhere, she really is as twisted and cruel as Mikaboshi had whispered she is.
A part of her still believe that. It’s why he had the upper hand over her again.
But Kage’s action set it apart. He’s trying to stop her and that in itself give her enough courage to struggle against the heavy pressure being applied on her mind. Her arms twitches and shook, movement unsure as Naoto forces air through her lunges and swollen throat.
"Let go of me…" She mutters through her teeth as one hand slowly lifts up, palm facing up. The apparition of Mikaboshi flinched, their previously synced movements starting to come undone. A blue glow flashes dimly under her feet as a card form in the air, just above her hand. "Sukuna-Hikona…"
Kage took the blow to his cheek, his already deformed jaw making a small pop as its joints dislodged. Almost certain that Naoto was back in control of her own body, the Shadow didn’t expect such a violent counter. With one hand still holding her first one down, Kage’s other hand briefly fixed his slackened jaw. Despite the attack, he didn’t fall back any further than he already was, and his grip on Naoto’s one hand remained strong. Well… that was until Naoto’s other hand raised and beckoned her other facet to come forth.
By complete impulse, Kage’s body manifested itself to fit the situation and it briefly lifted off the ground in a light blue aura. “W-wait, no no…!” The large, oddly proportioned body from before smoothed and shrunk at a quick pace. When he settled again, he was still holding onto Naoto’s hand, but it wasn’t any exaggeration to say that he could probably fit in her hand if he tried, too. The little moth hooked himself onto Naoto’s arm and looked rather dismal, despite the mask hiding his face. This wasn’t the kind of form he wanted to deal with Mikaboshi in… Though he was powerfully fast, he felt a lot more… ‘leashed’ in this form. There was too much control and a lot less brutality. Still, he was just a fragment of the true Persona that Naoto most likely expected to come to her aid, and he expected it, too. Staring upwards, he watched as the Wheel of Fortune card shattered before her hand, his head tilting down.
What was that feeling? A small twinge of jealousy?
She didn’t think this would happen. As the hand holding her wrist shrink, she understood fully what’s happening, even if it was the first time it happened. She had never summoned her Persona while her Shadow was present before, and to watch the human-sized shadow turn into the smaller persona was a wake-up call on it’s own.
Mikaboshi, on the other hand, thought the same thing.
With a thunderous, mocking roar of laughter, it reached forward with it’s clawed hand, intending to smack the … the Persona/Shadow away from Naoto’s arm.
"How degrading isn’t it, to turn into this tiny form. You really are just a shard of whole…"
Her free hand reached up to press against the side of her head, Naoto watched for a moment, mind reeling to reverse the effect. “Dismiss dismiss… come on!” Her impatience at the scene before her eyes, even if she can’t see Mikaboshi hovering just above her still attempting to sync their movements again, made her cry to reverse the summon all the more frustrated.
Kage didn’t seem all too delighted by the dismissal, even if it was true that the tiny body he had now was feeble in comparison to Amatsu Mikaboshi. It was at least very fast, and such lightning quick reflexes could have been used to Kage’s advantage. With such agility, he could have defended himself until his energy returned, but instead, the form was dismissed and he was once again forced to fall back into his basic appearance. The transformation itself was what consumed the most energy, so the quick summon and recalling left Kage almost entirely breathless. There was no way that he could avoid Mikaboshi’s claws that way.
Struck by the sharp fingers, the little moth boy was released from Naoto’s arm with a long tear separating one of his cloth wings into two. The same tear could be seen transferred into Kage’s lab coat as his body hit the floor and returned back to its humanized self. The Shadow boy curled up, a dismal look on his face. The more Mikaboshi attempted to gain control over Naoto’s body again, the more the same appearance tried to take over Kage’s. His clenched fists gripped at his yellow tie, a light heaving in his breath getting progressively worse.
“Make it stop…” he spoke out to Naoto, almost as if begging. It would have been another transformation, after all… The fourth one in just a matter of moments. The boy was exasperated beyond belief.
Watching Sukuna-Hikona get hit sends a pang of guilt through Naoto, never mind the faint jolt of pain that comes with having her Persona hit. The exhaustion was clear on the Shadow’s face as his form returns, one that she didn’t know she would miss seeing. But that relieve came a moment too soon, as his words once again send her own emotions into it’s constant tumble.
Growling angrily, she struggles to take a step forward. Mikaboshi remained, angling back as if pulling her like she’s a dog on a leash, disobeying her owner. Still she lifted a foot and stomped on the floor, one step forward and tearing herself away from his attempts to re-sync their movements. “Let go…”
Her hand still pressed harshly against her temple, she made a decision that she hope is the right one. She have made so many wrong choices, just once, just once she want to make the right one. She raised her other foot, stomping another step forward, pulling them apart further. The rest comes easier, one by one.
As she pulls her other arm free from control, Mikaboshi leashed out fully. No longer restricted down to the size of Naoto, it straightens tall and proud. It reared an arm up and brought it’s sharp fingered hand down. He wasn’t aiming to kill her, they are both confident of that, but the swipe still drew blood, leaving a set of claw marks against the sleuth’s back.
Naoto stumbles forward two steps, before the struggle to free herself took it’s toll on her body and she falls to her knees.
Kage’s body jerked as the blow hitting Naoto created a similarly intense pain crawling through his skin, like a spontaneous and crushing cramp. The little Shadow gave off a low groan and curled together more, barely looking up as he saw Naoto falling forwards. This beast didn’t care about her… not at all. Even a Shadow had the ability to create a cooperation with its host, and sometimes even get on positive terms with each other. But the way Mikaboshi was treating his host… she was nothing more than that. A host. A toy, and a puppet. Kage couldn’t tell what was worse… feeling Naoto’s physical pain, or her emotional pain.
“She doesn’t want you…” the Shadow spoke lowly under his voice, keeping still in an attempt to get his energy back sooner. It wouldn’t take long, but if he tried anything rash right away, he would surely fall just as badly as Naoto had. He made a slow crawl towards his host and rested his love sleeves across her back, watching as the blood quickly seeped through the white cloth. The gentle haze that whipped up around his body seemed to lift up thicker and thicker as he regained himself, eyes leering. Staring up at the massive beast before them, Kage kept himself over Naoto as if to protect her, though his arms were shaking from weakness. “Host-kun… I know you’re hurt, as I can feel it too. I know I’m more than just a fragment, but do you…?” he questioned, “Aid me… Trust that I can rip this beast from you and I will without fail. I need you to at least try for me… because as I am now, I can barely find the energy to stand.”
There wasn’t much time. He could feel Mikaboshi’s violence urges growing, and he would have to take the blunt of it unless he could summon up the energy. At the very least, he had one method of defense that the creature probably wasn’t expecting… but it wasn’t something that Kage wanted to employ so casually.
Mikaboshi don’t have the lips necessary to grin, but Naoto still feels it all the same, like a tingle at the back of her mind. Naoto falls forward, stopping herself short from crashing to the metallic floor face first with her arms. The pain from the claws throbbed terribly, pulsing along with her heart beat, quick and heavy. Her heart positively hammering against her chest.
From the corner of her eye, she spot the white figure wiggling on the floor, crawling closer to her side until he enters her vision. The Shadow’s words was a comfort, though his hand against her back felt heavy, she can’t move to move away from it. She can hardly move. Words jumbles, just a string of sounds that was barely audible through the rush of blood through her body.
There are many things going on in her head and the constant pull of Mikaboshi to get her under his control again was only one part of it. There are feelings being stirred up, emotions she didn’t know she is still capable of rushing through in waves. Guilt was the main one. Regret was another. Betrayed, helpless, cornered, desperation. Anger and hatred and recklessness follows close behind. She tries to keep it under control, tries her best not to be played into anyone’s hands again. Can she trust Kage? Probably. She doesn’t know anymore.
A hand shaky reaches to her lower back, the blood seeping through her shirt has already made it’s way that far. Through her slippery grip, she pulled out a small black device with a single trigger in the middle and two prongs sticking up from the top. A taser. She slide it towards her Shadow. It’s the lesser of two evils, she wager, knowing that she can’t just change in moments, in seconds. It’s just not possible for her to believe that fast, not when she had spent months thinking nothing good can come from her and years believing she’s alone in the world.
"Use this if you have to…on me." She mutters back, even as she shifts her weight, plant a foot on the floor before another and stood back up again. "Can’t promise you anything except I’ll try." She took a deep breath, turned around and faced the monster living in her mind.
She tries, like she said she would. Try to believe Kage can take down this thing. The God of Evil, as people believed, stood tall and proud and reared his arms back for another strike. And in turn, she reaches up to meet them, both arms above her head even as it tears at the injury on her back further. Their arms don’t meet, Mikaboshi strike paused in mid-air as Naoto tighten her hands to fists.
"You forget, Mikaboshi. This connection go both ways." If she have the measure of spare energy left, she would’ve smirked. Without an expressive face, there is no way to see Mikaboshi’s reaction, but she can feel it, the brief victory of his panic was a bitter one indeed.
"Get him Kage."
With undying concern for his host, Kage kept close and barely gave Mikaboshi a second thought while his other half was injured before him. Even if Mikaboshi was the problem, the ultimate goal here was to support Naoto and do for her whatever she wished. Part of the process definitely involved Naoto’s own willingness to get rid of this creature. If she didn’t wish for such a thing, then neither did Kage. Alas, it was obvious that she was trying to fight back. Regardless of her goals and whether or not they matched with Mikaboshi’s, as long as he was in her mind, Naoto wouldn’t be able to truly own her choices.
Taking his eyes off of his host’s for just a brief moment, Kage felt the passing of the taser into his hands. Ah, the modern day ray gun… Or at least, it might as well have been. The moment she handed it over to him, an ingenious light bulb blinked in the Shadow’s mind. Yes, he understood… or did he? When Naoto suggested that he use it on her, his expression immediately dropped and… well, obviously the ace detective wasn’t as cunning as he thought. “Use it on you?” he emphasized sarcastically. There would be no need for that. Not unless things got so far out of hand that there were no other options.
Bringing his arm back to his side, Kage reluctantly released Naoto from his hold when she decided to stand back up again. Holding himself up on his elbows, the little Shadow stared up at the much larger presence before him. His eyes leered mischievously, and the edges of his mouth curled into a tiny smile. “I suppose in the end, it’s really a matter of who has the stronger connection to host-kun…” he decided with a light nod, “Do you really think that you, who has no right or invitation to be within her mind, has any chance of surviving? Don’t forget where you stand, beast… You’re on my playing field.”
Given what was in Kage’s hand right now, there was no need to conserve his energy. With what he could muster, the Shadow brought himself back to his feet and panted softly, lifting the pointed ends of the taser towards his own cranium. Really? That was his brilliant idea? For someone so scared about getting short-circuited in a bath, Kage was showing no reservation at all about overloading his system with a taser. “The connection certainly does go both ways… and I have to thank you for giving me the occasional opportunity to utilize your own power, Amatsu Mikaboshi. They say that you can only cut a diamond with another diamond, after all…”
When the trigger was pulled on the taser, the overabundance of energy surging through Kage’s system was enough to send his heart racing and his lungs gasping hard for oxygen. If it weren’t for the half-biological and half-artificial make-up of his body, he would have definitely overloaded. But in unison, the biological parts acted as a buffer to keep the electrical components from frying. Still, he was dangerously charged and the only outlet that he knew of was exactly what he needed to happen right now.
Without warning, Kage’s skin expanded and tore apart as the creature many times his size lifted up as tall as Amatsu Mikaboshi. Perfectly tall, actually, since they were in essence the exact same creature. The few mutations that separated Kage from the other at least gave him another form of offense; his absolutely terrible bite. Less humanized than the real Mikaboshi, Kage’s form lurched downwards with the posture of a lycan and he swiftly jumped to the side in order to remove Naoto from his line of sight. Bounding off of the metal grating, his jaw widened and targeted Mikaboshi’s unprotected face, the taser falling down to the floor uselessly.
A fake… and a shard… But at least I’m wanted!
That… was not the intention she has for the taser, though she can’t exactly say she was surprised he used it as such. She has to remind herself that he’s different. He’s a cyborg and he clearly as a part of Mikaboshi in him to transform. If she had time, she would also wonder why he’s fighting against him too, but alas, time is short for her.
With a grunt, she kept still even as Mikaboshi wants to move. She has him pinned down for now, the puppet that pulls on the puppteer’s string to keep him still. She thought that was the best choice, just as handing Kage the taser was.
Mikaboshi himself, of course, doesn’t think so. He merely chuckles, even as the more beast-like version of himself sprung to attack him. He ceased trying to move, which should have set the first alarm bells in Naoto’s mind.
"Which of us is deeper connected with her, you ask?" He turns his gaze towards Kage as his jaws latches onto his face, ragged razors sinking deeply into the side of his head. "I think you forgot, shard, that I am her Persona…"
Which only means one thing.
Naoto screamed as the pain of the bite transferred directly onto herself. There was no teeth or fangs, but she can still feel it as Kage tears into Mikaboshi, a deep searing hot pain that spreads by points dotted along one side of her face, one for each fang. It was sudden and powerful enough to make her let go what little control of Mikaboshi movement she has, wheeling back to press her hands against the non-existent wounds.
Freed now, the more humanoid of the two copies swing his arms out, aiming to wrap his hands against Kage’s neck. His chuckling doesn’t cease, he has no reason to. He doesn’t feel any of the damage.
"Wanted? Why want something so mindless that he would hurt his own host so terribly?" He moved just a little, allowing Kage’s line of sight to include Naoto. “I’m not the one who is hurting her now, am I?”
Naoto fell to her knees again, panting desperately to override the pain. It was harsh, it still burns, she can almost feels Kage’s own jaws against her skin. She eyed the taser he had dropped on the floor.
The very fact that Kage had to deal with Mikaboshi’s form taking over his own psyche was probably one of the many reasons for why he didn’t want the darker Persona sticking around. There was certainly something unwelcoming about him, and even though Kage was provided with a vastly more powerful body because of it, it still wasn’t right. In the little Shadow’s eyes, he saw this body as nothing more than a means of combating the beast that provided it to him.
But how much could he really do…? As the sudden sounds of Naoto’s scream cried out, Kage soon realized… ‘very little’. At least, not with these sorts of methods. Easily distracted by the sound of his host’s panicked and pained screams, he very briefly lifted his jaw away from Mikaboshi’s face and tried to understand why such a noise had been made. It was true… The pain of one’s Persona would simultaneously affect their own host when they became injured. But Kage doubted that someone such as Mikaboshi would be able to have that same effect on her, since he was brought into her body through unnatural methods. Alas, a Persona was a Persona, and the pain was all too real.
“Host-kun…!” Kage shouted out as he released Mikaboshi’s face, but as he was distracted for that brief moment, his combatant had decided to take the advantage and wrap his hands around his neck. Not good… Not only did Kage have to resist physically hurting Mikaboshi, he was now the one under direct attack. His dagger-like fangs parted as he emitted a light gurgle from the choking motion, his hands raising up and gripping around the others. His pointed fingers gripped into Mikaboshi’s arms on impulse, even if he didn’t want to do it, knowing that Naoto would feel a similar pain in her arms.
“This… is still your fault…that she is in pain!” he seethed, putting a great amount of force into getting his words out, “You’re transferring it to her…”
It was questionable whether or not the choking feeling in Kage’s throat would transfer to Naoto as well. The majority of him hoped that it wouldn’t… but a very small piece of him wished that it did, as a subtle reminder that he was still a part of her, no matter how small.
A small thread of saliva escaped from the corner of his muzzle as he tried to pull the hands away from his throat, the rest of him going limp. “I am… wanted…”
Naoto was bombarded by a series of sensations that followed, none of which was pleasant. The sting in her arms from Kage’s fingers digging into Mikaboshi, to the sharp gasp of breath she need to take as her throat constrict on itself, as if she’s the one being choked. A hand moved up to her own neck, feeling nothing there but the sensation continues. She chokes, took deep gasp, and reached out desperately for the taser lying just a little distant away.
Her eyes waters, her head pounded. So this is what happens when a Shadow and a Persona are directly at war with one another. Helplessly looking up as Mikaboshi grips onto Kage’s neck, digging his fingers into the familiar flesh, the ‘Persona’ only chuckled. "It wouldn’t matter soon…"
Naoto feels a cold chill down her back, watching Kage’s body going limp. Her fingers curls around the small black device as she stood on her shaky legs. A hand frantically ripping open the collars of her shirt and tie, any other plans she has is now reduced to a simple black and white. Who to stop and who to help.
Distracted, Mikaboshi didn’t have time to react when Naoto slammed into his side. He had even less time to react when she jammed the taser against the side of his neck. Naoto can feel the pain from the small device, two burning spot on her own neck that sends jolts of it up and down her spine. The electric current that it produces made Mikaboshi let go, as his limbs starts to flail. The pain transfers, but the effect are his. Naoto presses the taser harder, even as her eyes tears up from the sheer amount of pain she’s inflicting. “It’s about time you shut up!” She yelled, let memories and buried feelings power her for as long as she could before her arms finally dropped by her side.
Mikaboshi took a step back and stumbles to the floor in a mess of limbs and electric currents.
Kage could feel his consciousness beginning to slip as Mikaboshi’s grip tightened around him, completely blocking off his airway and at the same time, his ability to speak. All he could do was helplessly open and close his jaws, light sputters of force being emitted from the back of his throat. His hands were unable to remove Mikaboshi’s firm grip, so his last option was to try and knock out the parasite with his fists. He made a few punches at the others’ cranium, but unfortunately, every punch was weak from his own light-headedness and pain.
Making no notice at all when Naoto brought herself back to her feet, taser in hand, the Shadow was caught off guard by the overload of sensations that were already rattling his body. His heart was beating hard from the lack of oxygen, and the sudden jolt of pain from the shared experience of getting shocked in the neck was enough to make him lose it entirely. Had he a pair of eyes, they would have rolled back as his jaw went slack, his body collapsing to the floor when Mikaboshi’s crushing grip finally let go.
With the both of them splayed across the floor, Kage’s unconscious body automatically reverted back to his human-like appearance, but he made no movements at all. In this state, it was obvious to see that he wasn’t breathing at all, not even lightly. Thankfully his heart was still beating, but the intense overload along with the prolonged lack of oxygen had caused his lungs to fail, leaving him in critical condition. The chance of his lungs taking a gasp of air on their own right was very thin considering how weak they were, with all of his body’s energy being directed into keeping his heart beating. But that wouldn’t last for long in this situation, either.
Naoto dropped to her knees, her vision blurred as her body took in everything that had happened; the shock itself makes her muscles spasm, the pain burns against her neck and back and arms. Everything aches, from her throat to her toes, her breathing coming in large irregular gasps.
Leaving the flailing body of Mikaboshi behind, she catches something white from the corner of her eyes. Kage. It doesn’t take a genius to realize he isn’t moving, lying perfectly still. Not breathing, which explain why her lunges feels so heavy, almost like a compensation. Her head feels so light…
She crawls over to him, not trusting her legs would be able to take her own weight, light as she is. She have to fight off the urge to simply hold him and panic, opting for what she does best now her head is momentarily cleared of noises and conflict. She puts a hand on his neck, finding a pulse that only jumps every so often. Steadying her shakily, aching hands, she tipped his head back. He still has a heartbeat even if he isn’t breathing, and she tries to figure out what to do. Her own head was light and hazy, still sorting out her own body and it’s tangled web of sensation that comes from all of them.
Kage looks so much like her with his eyes closed, it almost made Naoto forget he’s part mechanical, but with no time to debate whether this will work for cyborg or not, she went ahead with it anyway. Tipping his jaw open, she covered his nose and covered his mouth with hers and breathed as deeply as her own struggling lunges can.
She’s at least thankful CPR was drilled into her muscle memories at this point.
Being a creature of the subconscious, and a cyborg at that, Kage was a little peculiar when it came to the ideas of conscious and unconscious. In truth, even if his biological body had been knocked out from the lack of oxygen, his electronic brain was still very much awake. It was an unnerving feeling, being unable to resuscitate himself even though he was aware that he needed air. In the end, even if he willed it, his body refused to breathe when he told it to.
His mind clouded over in a panic, given the fact that he couldn’t see through closed eyes, and at the same time he couldn’t tell if Mikaboshi was still a threat. His body could be in a terminal state, or maybe it was already dead? Like Noir had given herself before… 15 or 20 minutes without it, and he would be lost. Alas, he sensed a presence, one that he was always able to tell whether she was near or not. His host was close. Quite close. Very close…?
Caught off guard by the sudden flow of oxygen through his system, his collapsed lungs weakly regained their strength and he took in a sharp breath the instant he had the chance, eyes widening back open. Looking to the side, he gave off a few faltered coughs, his body shaking tremendously from the jostle to his system. One of many, anyways. When the fit of coughs subsided, he looked back up to his rescuer with weak breaths and shook his head, “… Who said you had to stop?” Wonderful, Kage. Jokes aside, he began to eyeball around the room for any sight of that devilish parasite. Were they safe…? “You saved us both… though, by painful means. Thank you, host-kun…”
The sudden gasp of breath can only be a good sign and Naoto drew back with a gasp of her own. As Kage’s body jolt back to life, she turned his body to the side with some effort, and held him as such until his coughing fit subsides. Her arms shook violently, pulling at strength it shouldn’t have anymore. When he had calmed down, she set him back on his back again and gave him a tired smile.
"You’re alright Kage." She said, more to herself than him. If he can joke, he’ll be fine now, she hope. A hand patted his head idly as she shook her head. Thanking her? For what? Getting them almost killed again? "You don’t have to thank me. I got us into this mess…"
She looked up at the tangle of green, black and white. Mikaboshi haven’t gotten back up on his feet yet, but he had also stopped flailing. “We’re not safe yet. As long as I’m conscious, we’ll never be safe.”
The small black device had landed somewhere on the other side of Kage, giving of a quiet buzz as the electric current is still active. Naoto tired eyes trained on it before turning to Kage. “I don’t think either of us can move, so how about we finish for the day?” She’s one electric shock away from collapsing, and it might as well be under her own terms. “I could use some sleep.”
Kage set a hand against his sore neck and wondered if he would be alright to stand… At least for now, he figured it wouldn’t be a bad idea to lie down for a while.
“I would rather blame Mikaboshi, not yourself… Unless you truly wished for such a thing to happen. But considering the fact that I’m still here, I doubt that’s the truth…” he answered, looking over at the creature that was just as wrecked from the experience as they were. Undoubtedly, all of them could use a little rest. There would be no forward progress in this state. But perhaps… there could be progress in sleep.
Following Naoto’s gaze, Kage noticed the taser that had been left on the floor, and the sight of it alone made him curl up his nose. Though it had ultimately saved their lives, it was a painful thing and never the first resort. Kage shook his head slowly and pushed the taser away a little bit, while his other hand rested against her forehead and down across her tired eyes, “Then… just sleep.” He smiled lightly and brought both draping sleeves around her, lying back, “It’ll be fine.”
Truthfully, it was a bit of a gamble… If Naoto couldn’t fall asleep, or fast enough, Mikaboshi would likely cause some sort of annoyance again. Or perhaps he too would be tired enough to let it go… Kage hoped for that.
“I’ll see you in your sleep…”
As she was pulled down against Kage, Naoto can’t keep her eyes away from the tangled form of Mikaboshi. Sore and tired, but her adrenaline still rolling through her veins, she struggled to make herself feel at ease enough to drift off. The cold hard floor was a reminder she’s in the base, as is the green around them and the dull light.
Trying to sleep now feels impossible. Her back ached, her shirt clung to her skin and a threat is still physically present.
A hand reached up and clung to Kage’s lab coat, her eyes wide and darting around the lab. “I… I can’t.” She breathed out, calming her own breathing at least, but her mind is all the more aware now that she wanted to sleep.
A short distance away, Mikaboshi made something of an inhuman groan and twitched slightly on the floor. Naoto can feel herself panicking again, ready to move against the protest of her body when she also felt a peculiar sensation. The same old feather light touches that always calms her now spreading a soothing wave from her neck down her spine.
With the struggle between Mikaboshi and Kage, Naoto have forgotten a third but equally important part of this conflict: Sukuna-Hikona, the presence that never leaves her mind. If she concentrate now, she can almost feel tiny hands rubbing against the muscles of her shoulders, coaxing her to sleep.
With a quiet sigh, she closes her eyes and settles herself against Kage, nuzzling against his neck and tries to forget she’s not in the cold metallic lab, sleeping on the floor with a cyborg Shadow and trying to stop the sinister forces at work in her mind ready to murder them should he see fit.
The absurdity of the situation is most certainly not lost to Naoto herself. “Let’s hope it turns out better there…”
It didn’t take any sort of special connection for Kage to notice how uneasy Naoto was, and how impossible it would be for her to fall asleep under these conditions. With Mikaboshi fully capable of coming to and their bodies all in disarray from the electric shocks, even a comfortable bed would be difficult to find any sleep on. It was silly of him to expect her to just drift off, but thankfully, that wasn’t what he was expecting at all. “You can…” he whispered back.
Remaining completely stationary and feigning his own attempts at falling asleep, Kage blindly released the two, thin cables from his back, their forms silently sneaking out from under his lab coat. Holding her close in his arms, he hoped that she wouldn’t be alarmed (or even notice) as the tendrils slithered up behind her and against the base of her neck where they rested. Indeed, the electric charge from a taser would be too extreme of a shock to put Naoto politely to sleep… so perhaps this was better. It would be a more precise, dulled charge that instilled the need to sleep, like a dose of electric morphine. If nothing else, Kage would be able to pass on his own tired feelings to her, and with the cords present, it might be possible for Kage to address Mikaboshi in a different realm. One that would hopefully stop bringing such harm to Naoto…
The fight from earlier had left Kage with little energy, and as he attempted to bringing Naoto to sleep with him, he felt himself slowly drifting off as well. Cold, steel floor or not… He may have been used to a comfortable bed, but if Noir could sleep in such unconventional places, then he could too.
Naoto kept her eyes closed despite the constantly desire to open them, to make certain Mikaboshi remain on the floor. But even if Mikaboshi gets back up, there is hardly anything the two of them can do. Exhausted and battered as they both are, it is highly unlikely they can stop the malicious entity before them physically.
Though that doesn’t seems necessary soon. Naoto dulled senses didn’t quite pick up the tendrils sneaking along her back. Her shirt was coated in drying blood, the claw marks along her back from earlier having slowly stopped bleeding. When she felt the strange tendril rest against the back of her neck, whatever alarm she would have was too late to stop the small shock. It was gradual and strangely soothing at this point. With a deep breath and a little shifting, Naoto formerly forcefully shut eyes relaxed and her breathing evens out.
Mikaboshi could probably feel it happening and with a jerk, reared it’s head back in a roar. Maybe it was anger or maybe it was trying to keep Naoto conscious, but soon he too faded from existence as Naoto conscious slips away.
Naoto can feel herself falling in a darkness that was growing familiar. The sensation of falling asleep was usually one she embrace whole-heartedly. Though this time, the sense of urgency lingers with her. A sensation that was helped only when a pair of small hands touches her cheeks and something blue appears, fluttering. There is no visual as much as there is. The transition from one to another was suppose to be flawless but less so now, with the sense of purpose filling her.
When she next can ‘see’ again, she herself was different. When she moves, her arms feels stronger, her legs steady and knowledge came briefly to her mind. She’s in a blue suit with blue shorts. She have wings-like cape. She have a weapon in her hand.
She can’t see these changes though, just know that there is changes. It’s as if things changed point-of-view. What she is aware of though is she’s in the middle of nowhere. She vaguely know she’s asleep in reality, but that’s all she knew.
There is a familiar presence around. In the distance, a green and black form stood almost glowing in the dark. And without even needing to speak or examine them, Naoto knows they are angry.
Mikaboshi is angry and she don’t know what to do as he charges towards her.
The transition of environment was both familiar and strange to Kage, since he had never experienced falling asleep with his host at the exact same time. It was true that whenever he slept, he could only dream whenever Naoto was dreaming, otherwise his mind would be a blank and he would wake up feeling a little less rested than he could have. Sleeping simultaneously was a good thing for them. But that surreal moment between being awake and asleep wasn’t commonly experienced at the same time. Nor was this a land for his conscious body.
Finding his footing in a world that lacked any sort of light, Kage brought his hands up and gripped his face which was quickly enveloped with a searing pain. He curled together for a moment, jaw going slack as his body disproportioned itself into the parasitic form of Amatsu Mikaboshi. Lab coat and all disappeared with him, and as he stood up again, he rubbed away the light layer of fluid, blood?, which obstructed his nostrils. Thank goodness the lack of light made no difference to him here, as he lacked any eyes for visual definition. But light wasn’t what made up the images in his head; rather, he could see through scent. Picking up the location of where the two others had dropped, he quickly made his way there before the situation got dire. Ah, just in time, too.
He raced after the charging form of his counterpart and kicked off the ground, his thick shoulder aimed at the other as he tried to tackle him back to the ground. If Naoto could see the very faint blue glow of the spirals around Kage’s body, she would see for a split second, as if he were in slow motion while in mid-air, his arm waving a ‘Hello again, host-kun!’ before he made harsh contact with Mikaboshi. His feet tried to plant against the other’s knees, to get him as immobilized as he possibly could. Even the familiar tails had retained their appearance here, and the two of them spread out to find any stray limbs to distract. “Round two… You never seem to get tired, do you…?” he spoke out through a lisp due to the array of elongated teeth.
The charging beast towards Naoto was knocked over by something almost the same size as itself. Long limbs with faintly glowing spirals sprayed on the ‘floor’ before Naoto’s eyes.
The detective was at a lose, unsure what’s happening. She’s aware this isn’t real, that this is all in her mind, as per the plan. She’s asleep back at the base and this fight is now strictly limited to her psych. But it was unfamiliar. She usually have Sukuna-Hikona by her side as she confronts Amatsu-Mikaboshi, but now the small blue Persona is nowhere to be seen.
Instead, as she looks at her hands, wondering how to help Kage subdue the renegade leech in her mind, the sight that greet her was a pair of bandage-covered hands. The hands was attached to blue cuffs and extend, bit by bit as her awareness grew, to a body in a blue suit. She was dressed like Sukuna-Hikona.
And as the realization settles in, a small metallic tub appears in her hand. She knew this must be the sword Sukuna uses, and as if to confirm it for her, it lights up with a large beam of light. The ‘sword’ is longer than she is!
Weapon in hand, she makes her way over to the struggling two on the floor, her feet doesn’t feel like they even touch the ‘floor’.
Mikaboshi can see and he can clearly see the light off the saber in Naoto’s hands. With an angry grunt, he tries to raise himself from underneath Kage. It was futile, Kage had the advantage of surprise and took it, almost pinning him down. Though watching the sword appearing in Naoto’s hands gave him an idea of his own.
"No. Not Round Two. This ends here, shard!" And with a thunderous roar, he moved. Or… he didn’t. But their surroundings did, the darkness tearing away and moved as if it has a mind of his own. Tentacles formed out of the same darkness around them and wrap itself around Kage’s torso, trying to toss him away with a might swing. "You forget. I’m part of this psych now. I’m closer to it than you will ever be!"
Despite the distraction of having to keep Mikaboshi pinned down, Kage could tell that Naoto was close, and that something was different about her. Not just physically, since in this realm, anything physical was nothing more than a mental illusion, but from the truest part of her mind which was hers alone. Was Naoto different when she slept…? Perhaps, unaware that she could connect to the greater powers of her psyche in this state? Even if it was just a guess, Kage had not expected this much out of their sudden transition to the mental realm. He wanted her body safe, but that was all he could promise here. Her mind itself was still very vulnerable, and any exertion in this world still felt draining, unsettling, and perhaps even painful.
Poised on top of the other, he braced for whatever tricks might be up Mikaboshi’s sleeves. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much that could be done in regards to the shifting world around them. The creature before him seemed to have a heavy influence here.
Feeling the dark appendages wrapping around his chest, his lanky, pointed fingers gripped instinctively for two things. One, Mikaboshi’s shoulder, and two, the tentacles around him. It was unlikely that he’d be able to get a good enough grip on Mikaboshi to get him anywhere, especially with the thick plating of his shoulder, but he would definitely cling for dear life onto the appendage around him. All of his nails sunk into it, and even though he was a little disoriented from the attempt at being thrown, he refused to let go of it.
Even within his struggle, he winced over the use of that nickname for the umpteenth time, “Shard… is inaccurate…! You’re insinuating that… that I’ve broken off. That I’m no longer a part of host-kun, b-but… that’s a lie! I’ll always be… a part. A ‘connected’ part, and that means you’re just as close to me… as you are to her,” he spoke lowly, fingers digging into his restraint, though he was ready to rip away from it if it started taking him too far away, “And vice versa… So, expose yourself to me!”
Curious to see if the substance he was gripping onto now had any relevance to Mikaboshi’s own psyche, he held onto it and released the jabbing tendrils from his own backside within it. These extensions of his spine were incredibly sensitive to neurological currents, and if being within Naoto’s subconscious alone wasn’t enough to get him more information on Mikaboshi, then this was his next option. Where did this thing come from? What was it, and where had it connected to Naoto…? Beating it to a pulp wasn’t going to get anything done. He needed to get to the core of the matter if he wanted to make a difference.
The sudden movement of the world around them made Naoto halt in her approach. Unlike the two before her, she’s unused to deal with her mind in such a direct way. Sure she has entered a state where she sometime get in contact with Sukuna-Hikona, but anything else beyond that is all new. The forced movement around them, that is to say, her psych, made her head respond with a dull ache. It wasn’t a literal ache, as much as it was one she think she should have, because this place should belong to her…
An idea slowly forms itself. She looked over at Kage, now suspended by dark tentacles. She focused. “Come on Sukuna-Hikona. Lend me your strength…” She closes her ‘eyes’ to focus, the simply act of switching off her imaginary perceived sights made her feel like she’s part of the scenery they’re in.
The world around them suddenly brightens up like the sun was just switched on. There is a land underneath them and a sky above them. When she allow sight back again, the surrounding is bright enough for her to identify the two.
Mikaboshi have to shield his eyes from the light, so used to perceiving with ‘eyes’ like Naoto that he was blinded by the switch. This distracted him enough that as the two jabbing tendrils, he let out a surprised cry. Even if he has control and know Naoto every move, Kage in this case has become a wild card in the mix.
What Kage will feel, if he digs enough, is a falling feeling that felt endless. There is something at the very bottom, if he clung to the tentacles long enough, but reaching the bottom would reduce his own mind into a sluggish and unpleasant state. The bottom holds an atmosphere that feels extremely oppressive and dank. It has an oil-like substances, black and liquid like. It seeps and crawls and if Kage made contact with it, it will tries to cover him and suffocate him in a desperate attempt to escape.
Mikaboshi is part of Naoto’s mind, but also a mind of his own. It’s duel nature allows him to physically attempt to throw Kage off and disconnect the Shadow’s attempt to reach his own psych.
But of course, Naoto can’t have any of that either as she rushes forward, the beam sword in hand and try to deal with Mikaboshi herself, hoping to give Kage enough time to get somewhere with his connections.
Kage’s struggling became nothing more than an occasional attempt at seeing just how tight his restraints were. For the most part, it felt like he wasn’t going to be able to escape from it with brute force alone. He’d have to cut through the matter, but he was still unsure of exactly what this stuff was. His jaw clenched together in alarm as he heard the surprised sounds from Mikaboshi. He was visually unaware of what changes had been made, and if that’s all there was, then it would seem no different to him. At the very least, he could sense the mental clarity that Naoto was experiencing. She could see… Yes, it must have been difficult for her to first perceive everything in this realm. The subconscious mind was a land of darkness, resisting opening itself up to the conscious mind. Where she could see now was nothing more than a fragment, a stage which would eventually serve as the same resting spot for the memories which would pass here.
With the two of them momentarily distracted, Kage knew that he’d have to put an effort into his mental research now if he was going to get anywhere with it. He sensed danger holding onto him, and the realization that at any time, Mikaboshi could probably squeeze the very life out of him. Kage could feel something balling up in his stomach, a pressure from all the restraints. “Where did you come from…?” he questioned internally, though as it seemed, that very same question would end up projected as a soft whisper in the air. He winced, blindly searching until he felt like the ground beneath him was shattering. That sensation of falling that would startle anyone awake… but he did not awaken from it. He continued to fall, and the resulting feeling was turning traumatic.
His body writhed, fists clenching and unclenching as a consuming feeling crept up against him. Something was wrong… but also very right. This was the direction he needed to go… but it was dangerous. Extremely dangerous. No matter what he learned, it would mean nothing if he lost himself into a coma, or an eternal sleep. The pitted feeling in his stomach felt like it was expanding, as if his stomach was about to leap from his throat. But the restraints were not tightening at all… Lifting his shoulders up, he felt a sudden gag in this back of his throat forcing him to widen his mouth and heave. With a choking noise in his throat, he twitched a few times until the result came out. Multiple shiny limbs emerged and crawled out along his tongue, followed by the segmented body of a tiny mechanical caterpillar. It was visible for only a brief moment as it leapt from his mouth like a diving board and into the floor below, concealing itself inside it with its two whip-like tails being the last to submerge in the ground that liquefied around its body.
Kage continued to breathe heavily, regaining some form of composure. It would be the best he’d have to be, because he was ready to fall as far as necessary now. As if cutting the life-line into a pit, he plummeted.
The stink would hit first, as Kage plummet further down. It’s a gut-churning scent, not unlike burnt flesh but also laced with many other things: the condensed smell of fat and blood being spilled from an open wound, the fresh scent of grass, the deeply acidic smell of vomit, the scent of millions of different types of flowers, so many so many. It all mixed together, the pleasant and the disgusting, and many more that no one can place. Do you still want to fall?
The scenery around them appeared normal at first but Naoto knew deep down it was impossible. And as soon as that thought had entered her mind, the scene changed, shifting like the flow of her consciousness. There is darkness in the ‘ground’ and in the ‘sky’ as if pieces was missing. Like the stage around them wasn’t completed, or corrupted.
Next came the sound, it’s tremendously loud burst of scream and laughter. There was all variety of it, scream of pain, scream of joy and everything in between. And the same with the laughter, laughter of madness, laughter of happiness. And there is chatters in between and all around, words and languages and gurgles of a baby and gurgles of someone choking on their last breath. It’s all there and it’s all so uncomfortably loud and unnervingly quiet. How far are you willing to go?
Catching the brief appearance of the mechanical bug as it dived from Kage’s mouth to the floor, Naoto didn’t allow herself to focus on that. Focusing on that would mean Mikaboshi would have clarity of it, and now of all times, any information they could hide from him is an advantage.
Then came the taste. It invades your tongue, even if you don’t have one. It crawls down your throat and into your mind, setting it on fire as you taste the flames and freezing your mind as it shift to ice. There are a million of things as well, flesh and bread and someone’s middle toe. It’s all there, lingering for a second before it moves on to the next. Things that move when you taste them, things that wiggles and things that walk. The taste of movement, the taste of sound. It forces it’s way in, drinking itself to your throat. Will the falling ever end?
With his attention still shifting between disconnecting Kage, Naoto moved in with the light saber. The handle wasn’t much of a handle, and felt odd in her palm but she swung the beam of light with all her might against Mikaboshi’s torso. Where it connects, steam rose and the beam of light sinks in, like a hot knife to butter. When it cut through the body, Naoto wasn’t sure what she expects. Did she harm Mikaboshi? Or did it just harm herself? Her answer came soon enough: neither. The gaping hole to it’s torso simply sealed up with a gurgle, the oil-like consistency folding in on itself until it was as if the hole was never there.
Now you see it, even when you don’t have eyes. How is that possible, right? There is darkness and there is light, and all the colours in between. There is shapes and scenes and utter chaos, but some look familiar. Faces and events you have seen before, like the atmosphere sneaked into your brain and took memories to show you. If you focus on any one picture, your senses follow and you live it again. So many memories, pasted before your eyes, moving out of and into your grasp. Will you stop here?
Naoto ‘looked’ up to a grin that would have split Mikaboshi’s face apart if he had lips or a jaw. Instead, he moved his arms and the stage around them moved. The darkness, the broken pieces of the stage, heaved itself up and sailed like a wave, crashing into her side and sending her sliding across the floor. Her side ached dully, but stopped once she focus on perceiving that and got on her feet. “You can’t hurt me here…”
And lastly, you feel it. You feel the oily drips of darkness from above you, from below you, from all around you, encasing you like a ball. It crawls along your skin, desperate to throw you out as much as wanting you to stay. It crawls up to your neck, but it stops. Then it solidifies slightly to wrap itself around your neck. The oppression feels stronger the second a pair of green eyes stares back at you from the deep. Get. Out.
Mikaboshi only leaned forward, bending his rubbery back towards the tiny form of Naoto in this corrupted stage they’re fighting on. "Are you so sure? A death in the mind is a death for real, after all. It is so easy to trick it…"
The lengthy journey through Naoto’s corrupted subconscious began, a journey which was sure to feel like forever and the sensations to follow would equally feel like unending torture. But there could be no quick fix to this situation, and Kage was set on discovering the truth for himself. Even if it meant enduring the worst sorts of pains and corruption himself. From beginning to end, all he could do was think pleasant thoughts… which was a somewhat difficult task for a Shadow considering the nature of his being. Indeed, the fact that a thrown away, aberrant part of Naoto was one of her few remaining shreds of hope… was a pretty big indication of how bad it had all gotten.
The first indication that something was wrong came to him through his nasals. If there was a tinge of rotting within the scent that he discovered, then Kage would definitely be caught off guard and find it unappealing. But otherwise, he actually found the blood and bodily smells to be quite tantalizing. And familiar… Humans may have had their own particular smells on the outside, but on the inside, it was all the same. Overpowering, and drenched with the smells of iron, mucus and meat. The smell of vomit was the only thing that turned him away, since the stomach was one part of the meal that was typically avoided.
Then, the sounds. The obnoxiously loud burst of noise startled him to full attention like an alarm clock, a sensation which he was quite uncomfortable with. Aside from the fact that he preferred waking up without an alarm, Kage was rather unadjusted to loud noises. His audio receivers tended to adjust his hearing so that nothing was too soft or too loud, so it was a sensation that he wasn’t used to. It was unfortunate to say that he was already so unnerved at this point…
His lips parted at the next stage, tongue seeping out from his mouth as his jaw twitched mindlessly from the onslaught of tastes that he had an impossible time recognizing. Every bit of it was surreal and new, and if he knew what even half of these were, it might not be so bad of an experience. But he was confused… Greatly confused. Of course, to the Naoto that was outside of all of this and watching him, she’d be able to see that a lot of this was having an uncomfortable, physical effect on him. His hands clenched into fists, and his head swayed lightly from side to side as he tried to cope with the overbearing sensations.
At one point, he seemed to finally get a moment of rest… Physically, anyways. His body went still as a flash of images played out before him, things that seemed rather harmless and unable to hurt him, but there were a few alarming and saddening memories that played out as well. Still, he would not be convinced by their trickery, and he took a moment to breathe, his thick chest rising and falling against the dark confines that held him.
But that was the calm before the storm… Before Kage could expect it, a sensation so visceral and real crept upon him and began to threaten his very safety. Clamps, restrains, crawling touches and pain… He began to breathe harder again as the feeling crept up against him and tightened the hardest around his neck, causing him to give off a slight choke. Was any of this even happening…? No, no he had to convince himself that it wasn’t… This was all a trick of the mind. All of it had been. He couldn’t die here… Even if the words Mikaboshi spewed out to Naoto suggested otherwise, Kage would not believe it. If anything, that only convinced him more that death could be cheated here as well.
“None of this… exists…” he muttered out, a string of words that tried to resist the choking feeling and emit perfectly clear. His arms tried to move… His eyes tried to focus on what was really in front of him. To taste it, smell it, understand it… The truth, the real. To bury away all the aches, stenches, visuals and rotten tastes… because none of this was real. His gaze fell forwards, locked on the green eyes that he had at once noticed when the sensation of touch threatened to choke him. “You’re not… a part of us…”
Summary: Naoto fell through the ceiling of an apartment, landing in the living room of another Naoto. It turns out she didn’t just somehow fell through someone’s floor to the apartment below, she jumped through time and space again. What’s worse, there’s a dead body where she landed. Good thing there’s a detective and an ex-detective on the job.
Naoto wasn’t sure who was screeching in her ears or who decide to bang a gong in the room, but whoever it was, isn’t helping her aching head. Or really, aching everything. She stared at the hole above her directly above her and slowly let her eyes swift to the one yelling at her.
Herself? No wait, she remember this one. The older one…
Sitting up, she checked her head for any bleeding before picking up her hat and dusting it off.
"First of all, yes, I do know you have a door. I wonder how you got in here if it didn’t. And secondly, I’m fine, thanks for asking. It’s not as if I just fell through a goddamn floor or anything." She answer in a highly irritated tone, before muttering about 'future self still have tin ears'.
Even as her head wasn’t bleeding, it still hurts a lot. She clutched it for a moment to let settle before trying to get on her feet. “Right. Sorry about the hole. I’ll pay for the repair.”
The older Shirogane leaned down, offering her younger self a hand up. “My apologies, I should have asked if you were okay. That was a long fall…” She looked up at the hole. “And please do not worry about the repairs. I will contact the landlord and explain the situation. My…our grandfather will probably end up paying for it.” she sighed. “Do you know how you fell through the floor?”
"Your grampa. Mine has passed away." Naoto answer as she took the offered hand and heaved herself back to her feet. "I could still cover a portion of the damage. I fell through it after all. But before we get to why I was there, may I ask a favour? Can I have an ice pack?" One of her hand never strayed from her head, where it thumped sharply and distractingly in pain.
Naoto didn’t know what to think when her younger self said that her grandpa was dead. He was such a strong man, it was almost unbelieveable.
"My condolences," the older Naoto said. She nodded to her counterpart’s request, walking into her kitchen and taking out the ice tray, putting some in a plastic bag and wrapping it in a towel and walking back over to the hurting Shirogane. "Here you go," she said, handing it to her.
In the time in between, Naoto dusted the rest of herself off and moved herself to somewhere more comfortable, or at least away so the remaining loose parts of the ceiling stop showering her in dust and build materials.
"Thank you." She took the ice pack and pressed it lightly to the side of her head, where she can feel a bump forming. "As for how I end up there… I was technically not 'here'. I was back in what I think was my world because I was sure it was my apartment underneath it…” She sighs. “It’s confusing. How did I end up here….?”
Naoto looked up at the hole in her ceiling before taking a seat next to the younger Shirogane on the couch. She had fallen through the ceiling into another world? She had seen stranger things…it wasn’t completely implausible.
"So you mean to tell me that in your world, you live in this exact apartment in this exact building?" Naoto asked. "Or you were in a different apartment building that somehow led to my apartment in my world." The older detective was stumped as to how this made sense, because it didn’t make any.
"Perhaps we were brought together again for a reason," she suggested after a moment of thought.
"That… depends. I was in my apartment complex, in the apartment above my own. So falling down would naturally end in my own apartment but it’s yours…" She took a quick look around them. Not counting the mess of debris in the middle of the room, the apartment had a different layout but generally the same building structure. "This looks like my apartment, but much more tidier…"
She looks over at the older of the two, shifting the ice pack from one hand to another. “What address is this? A-and for what reason? I’m not exactly the best of us out there…” Pauses. “Who lives upstairs, if I may ask?”
Naoto thought about it for a moment. She wondered
"Apartment 4A, in the 6 story building about 7 blocks west of the northeast shopping district," Naoto said. "I am just wondering, because if we live in the same apartment in different universes, that will make this multiverse confusion make…a slight bit more sense than before." She looked up at the hole in the ceiling. "If I remember correctly? A younger couple. I don’t know their names. The only person I speak to in the building is my landlord…and my interactions with him are few and far between."
Having already expected something similar, Naoto wasn’t too shocked to her own address leaving the other-self’s lips. “That’s my address…” She said quietly. It does make slightly more sense with them living in the same apartment in differing universes, though that hardly explain how and why she’s here.
Though the new information of the tenant upstairs made her raise an eyebrow in surprise. “Wait, a young couple? My upstairs neighbor is a single young man with taste for excessively loud Russian rock music. It was why I was upstairs at all…” She looked over at the other Naoto and a realization came quickly. “Oh wait, maybe he moved eventually. We have a time gap of about… four or five years?”
It made sense, really. Naoto’s grandfather had purchased this apartment for her when she got put on the Inaba murder case. That timeline seemed similar at least. But that was the least of her worries.
"Approximately 6 years, actually," Naoto said. "Now that I think about it, the couple upstairs moved in about 6 months ago. They probably won’t be very happy with the hole in their floor…"
She stood and walked over to the pile of debris in the middle of her living room, seeing something strange among the ceiling plaster and wood. “What’s this…?” she crouched down and picked up what looked like a bone. “A…bone?”
She removed the ice pack and rubbed her head. Maybe the fall did effect her after all. There is a small bump to the side of her head that aches, and being mindful of it, she gently lay her hat back on.
Glancing up at the hole, Naoto winced quietly to herself. New resident and a newly made hole in their floor. How are they going to explain this, least of all how to explain how someone got into their apartment and caused the hole…
Wait, bone?
"Bone?" Naoto echoed, getting off the couch and approaching the debris. Sure enough, in her counterpart’s hand is indeed a bone. And not just any bone, the length and width suggest it to be human… "Where-up there?!" She looked up at the hole, and at the side angle she’s looking at it now, there is something grey-ish white sticking out of the concrete. "There is more." Her eyes narrows as only one thing it can be. "A body in between the floors…?"
Naoto looked up to see what her counterpart was staring at. She looked around for something to stand on so that she could reach up and find out if there was indeed a body between the floors. She saw a card table folded along the side of the couch.
"Will you please hold this steady for me while I look up there?" she asked, pulling out the card table and unfolding it so that she could stand on it.
Naoto watches her other self unfold the card table and nodded, bending down to place her hands firmly against two sides. “I got it.” She can keep it steady, but her eyes drifts to the bone that had fallen with her. Is this why she end up here? It certainly seems like it. What are the chances that they find a body from her sudden appearance.
Still, if it was just simple case, her counterpart can no doubt solve it on her own. She frowns deeply to herself, a small incline as to why she’s here starts forming in her mind…
Knowing that the table was sturdy. Naoto stood on the card table, reaching up into the hole and carefully removing what looked like a femur. She handed it down to her doppelganger, reaching up again, except on the opposite side, removing what looked like a jaw bone.
"There is no doubt about it now…" Naoto said, climbing down from the card table. "There was a body hidden in the floor boards. I’m going to call the police," she said, pulling out her cell phone.
Taking the femur and what she suspect is the humerus, Naoto watched her counterpart pull out her phone. Even their phone is the same, she thought, before her thought jolted with a problem. She waved the bone in her hand a little to get her attention.
"Wa-wait, what are we going to tell them about me?" As far as this world is concerned, there is only one Naoto Shirogane. "Should I leave for a while?" It wouldn’t be a permanent solution, but a temporary one.
Naoto stopped herself from hitting the call button on her phone, taking into account the fact that her counterpart looked exactly like her, and had the same name. And the fact that said counterpart had fallen through the ceiling from a different time would not go over well with the police.
"It would not be wise for you to leave…you are the one who fell through the ceiling, after all. If you hadn’t, we wouldn’t have found this body….." she thought of an explanation. "I can not think of a reason you would have been upstairs."
"But how…?" How is she going to explain away her existence? More over, how she broke through the floor and fell right into Naoto’s apartment. "They… they wouldn’t believe us if we told them the truth. I was having a row with my upstairs neighbor that ended with me here. They wouldn’t believe that, especially since.. since he doesn’t even live here anymore…."
Naoto stared at the bones in her hands as a rather terrible idea surfaced. What if this body… was his? That she had killed him and hidden him there, back in her own world? It was a theory, and not one she wanted to voice at the moment. She need evidence. “Are the couples home? Maybe we can make it as if something big and heavy fell on the floor and broke through…? Technically, this area has already been weakened because of the body…” It would be misleading the police force, but it’s not as if she haven’t done so many times before. To her counterpart though, maybe it wasn’t such a good idea…
"I don’t believe so. I figure that they would have noticed the hole in the floor by now. What do you propose we do if we don’t call the police? Investigate on our own?" she closed her phone and returned it to her pocket.
"I assume that Dojima-San would grow suspicious if I suddenly acquired an interest in missing persons files from so long ago…and if we don’t call the police, the couple upstairs will. It is better that we explain now than wait for someone else to bring this issue to light." Naoto explained, "Do you not agree with me?"
Naoto can feel her frustration growing. “It’s not that I don’t agree with you, but … ” It’s hard to get into words just what the problem is, considering this rather… abnormal situation they have found themselves in. “I… ” With a deep sigh, she glances out the window.
"… fine. Call the police." She answers finally, arms crossed as her eyes narrow in seriousness. "But if I can’t leave, then it’s your job to explain who I am to the officers…" That’s the problem she have trouble expressing. There is already one Naoto Shirogane in this world, the proper one, which leaves her a rather fundamental issue she had never thought she’ll encounter; than who is she?
The older detective sighed. “I know, but we will deal with this as it comes. Knowing the Inaba Police, they won’t be here for at least an hour…” she said. “We’ll figure out a cover story.” She felt bad for her counterpart, but if she didn’t call the police soon, the neighbors upstairs would. And that Naoto didn’t want to explain that to them. It would be easier to explain to an officer if she was the one who called.
Naoto dialed the number and read off her badge number to the secretary, requesting that an officer make their way out to her apartment.
"They’ll be here soon…" she said, crouching down and examining the bones that were mixed in with the parts of ceiling. "It makes me wonder what actually happened…"
Her frustration spent, Naoto took a seat back on the couch as she watch her older counterpart talk on the phone. Above them, she can hear the commotion. The couple must have noticed the hole, though hopefully not the bones. Needless panic to civilian wouldn’t do, after all. Her eyes drifted to the bones they have managed to pull out. A body in between the floorboard is not something she had faced before.
"They must be buried from upstairs." It made the most logical sense. Burying a body on the ceiling is not only hard work, but the inconsistencies of the covering outer layer would be far more obvious. "And it happened a long time ago. The decomposing process has been completed. You say the couple upstairs only moved in 6 months ago?"
Her mind is making quick work of the scene. She would start taking notes, but her usual inventory wasn’t with her when this hop between worlds happened. “Urgh…” She run a hand through her hair, rubbing at the bump on the side of her head. “How do I explain this at all? I was having a row with someone from my own world…”
Naoto set her phone aside and walked over to her doppelganger, sitting down on the couch next to her. “Look, they are sending over an officer and the coroner to gather the bones. He will be able to determine how long the bones have been decomposing and we can get a time frame. I am positive that you are innocent. There is an explanation, and we will find it.”
The girl was trying to be reassuring, but she didn’t know if it would work. She knew herself, but this Naoto had been through way more than she in a lot less time. So she couldn’t be sure.
Her attempt of reassurance was… reassuring, but the thought continue to churn in her mind. She leans forward, arms resting on her knees as she thinks carefully. “My upstair neightbour was a single male, around the age of mid to late twenties. Stands around 6 feet tall…” She recounts what she could remember before the row started. “Our time difference is six years… if everything matches up however…” She glances over to the other Naoto. “If everything does match up, then I’m sorry…”
Naoto felt a little off. This whole thing does. And now she’s apologizing for a crime she didn’t do. Or… didn’t commit yet.
From a distant away, siren can be heard, coming closer by the second. Naoto give them minutes before they would be in the apartment.
Summary: After a night of King's Game, Kanji have to take care of a intoxicated Naoto. As they stumble through the city to a hotel, things start to get more complicated...
“Hey Naoto, can you stand?” he said, facing the somewhat inebriated young detective.
Come to think of it, he felt slightly drunk himself, but that was impossible, right? There wasn’t supposed to be alcohol on the side of the table where the underage participants in King’s Game were. But far be it for anyone to call out Club Escapade on their mistake — they would get in just as much trouble for underage drinking as they would for serving them. He knew for a fact that the last time there was a King’s Game, he didn’t feel anything. But a combination of the atmosphere and some alcohol (Booze has no right tasting that innocent, he thought) had brought his feelings for Naoto to the surface. And though he was unskilled in such matters, he was all but certain her feelings for him were the same… maybe. Unless it was just the influence. Naoto was rather small and just one drink might put her over. Thankfully it was wearing off for him, but he was almost twice her weight after all.
“Naoto, you there?” He’d never seen her this unfocused before.
Unfocused is the right word as Naoto only respond to being called twice was to turn her head vaguely in the direction of Kanji. Vaguely. Because she isn’t sure how many of him there is suppose to be now but it’s definitely not one.
"Hiii~" She answered eventually, having no idea what she was answering to. Her body seems to heat up and her stomach feels weird, but not in any unpleasant way. And there is a sweet taste on her tongue. Also, she’s very thirsty. "Say Kanji? Where are those sweeeet tasting drink gone? I could use moreeee…" She’s slurring some of her words, practically hanging off Kanji at this point.
A little breeze blew by and it tingles her legs. “And whyyy is everything breezyyy?” She asked, unaware she’s not in her normal clothes after the event in the club.
“Whoa, you don’t need any more of that, Nao,” he said, directing her to the closest water fountain he could find. She was once again grabbing onto him for support. He shouldn’t read too much into that… should he? He was so confused. How long was he going to keep doing this to himself?
But then he recalled that, somewhat under the influence, they had shared that bottle of sweet tasting something and had just about admitted his feelings to her with a kiss on the cheek. Well, that he liked her a lot and didn’t want to take advantage of her in that state. She hadn’t given him an answer… but maybe she interpreted what he said wrong? It wasn’t like her saying I’m pretty meant anything, baka, he thought to himself. He couldn’t kid anyone. No one had an interest in Kanji, the former delinquent, the bicurious butch fairy who made dolls. Least of all, one of the most popular yet mysterious students of Yasogami High. Right?
He wouldn’t mention it again if she didn’t. He was too afraid of any awkwardness that might occur.
At her second question, he noticed her skirt flying up slightly in the breeze, showing more leg than he was used to from her. Quickly, he tried to hold it down without actually touching her hips so any passersby didn’t see. “Crap! We don’t need any Marilyn Monroe moments here. Yeah so… you don’t remember? You switched clothes with Minako, she just came back from work and— never mind.” He rather liked the sight of her in a maid’s outfit. It was a bit loose, and it’s not like he had some fetish for women in servitude, but she rarely wore clothes that showed much of her slim figure. She had stopped binding some time ago, which made it look even better… but had to focus. “Here, drink water. You need to get that crap outta your system.”
"Ehhh… I remember Minako walking away with my keysss… and I get to wear your shirt and it was big and comfy!" She declared happily by his side.
Hanging on to him via a death grip on his coat, she stumbled over to the water fountain he lead her to. She changed her position from using Kanji as a walking stick to hanging onto the fountain sides. She reached over and pressed the button, water sprouting up and she stared at it with a frown. “This doesn’t look quite as nice as the other drinks…” She mutters before leaning over and drink from it.
But as one might imagine with a drunk, she leans too far and practically have water splashing at her face. Which is just as well, as that seems to jolt her momentarily from her drunken stupor.
Gasping, she step back and shook her head, splashing water around for a moment and blinked, her eyes focusing a little more. “Kanji?” She turned around slowly, face still red and water dripping from her hair and face to the maid outfit but she seems a little more awake. “Urgh… I shouldn’t have drank so much…” Or at all, but her mind doesn’t seems willing to be that logical yet. She looked around them, at the closed shops and dark sky with dully lit street lamps. It was quiet and cold, a sharp contrast to what happened mere hour beforehand.
Something nagged at the back of her mind. An important question that they should seek the answer for as soon as possible but she can’t tell what. Deciding maybe more water would help, she turned back to the fountain, her arms gaining more strength or at least, more coordination, and took a long drink from it. She also took this chance to splash more water on her face, not caring how cold it is against her skin, heated from the alcohol that she can still taste in her mouth.
“Ah-heh… technically I guess it was my shirt, but that was the Kanji from an alternate universe, remember?” He couldn’t help but smile at the fact that wearing “his” things made her happy. Kanji never figured she liked him that much even as a friend, but she kept a pretty stoic exterior a lot of the time so it was near impossible to tell what she was thinking. “We’ll get your clothes and keys back soon, no worries.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at her trying to drink the water. “Yeah well… you surprised me. Didn’t think you’d cut loose like that. You need to be careful next time. I mean, you’re kinda small so the alcohol works faster,” he tried in to say in a matter of fact way rather than scolding.
The thought just hit him. “Can you text your granddad? Gettin’ a train back to Inaba this late’s gonna be like, impossible. We better just stay at a cheap motel or something. There’s gotta be something nearby…” He then took his phone out and sent a text:
Hey Ma, getting a motel here. Will take next train out in morning. We’ll be safe, no worries.
After letting Naoto get some more water, he escorted her outside and started looking around. He started a search on his phone for motels in the area. One of them sounded familiar… “Nah, not that again. And people’d get the wrong idea.” He then located a more sensible place just a few blocks away. “Bingo. Will you be okay walking?” he asked her.
Any further attempt at working the water fountain is mixed success. Water dripping from her face, she shook her head to splash it off only made her head spin. “Well, I like your shirt…” She mumbles while battling the water.
Managing to get a few more mouthful of water, Naoto gave up on that endeavor and let go of the fountain, leaning against it unsteadily. “I didn’t think it had that much alcohol in them…” Actually, she was already down a slippery slope by the end of the first drink. The rest simply followed. “The bright colours are also very deceiving…”
But too late to complain now. Holding onto Kanji again, she was helped outside where the air was chilly and the maid outfit didn’t do anything to help the matter. She shivers, raising her wet arms to try dry off her face at least. It worked as well as expected. “Right… grampa. Motel.” That sounds about right.
As Kanji searched for one on his phone, she pulled out hers (she was thankful she had the presence of mind to take out her phone and keys before the clothes swap, unfortunately the keys was chained to her belt though) and made a quick text to her grandfather. Or attempted to.
To: Grampa
{ OUT IN CITY WITH KJANJI. STAY IN HORTAL FOR THE NIGHT. WILL GET HOME TOMORROW MORNING. CALL WHEN I GET HOME. IS SAGE. }
She squinted at the bright screen, thought it seemed alright before sending.
Locking her phone and sliding it to the very small pocket of the outfit, Naoto looks up from Kanji’s side, eyes still largely unfocused but at least she’s more alert.
"Let’s get ourselves a room." She said with a tired, lazy smile.
Kanji tried to stop himself from chuckling some more when she was losing the battle with the water fountain. He blushed some more at what she said about his shirt. Maybe he could get one of her own if she liked it so much. He certainly did.
“Be surprised how much a kick that stuff has. Least that’s what Naoki told me,” he recalled being told. The Konishi family had always been very knowledgeable about what they were selling, something Junes couldn’t quite match in the spirits department.
Kanji waited as Naoto texted her grandfather, but noticed something amiss besides her intoxication. “Wait, you’re shivering. Are you cold? Um, you already wore my shirt but…” Now was the time for chivalry. He took off his leather jacket and went behind her, gently guiding her arms into the sleeves while making sure she was steady. “A tailor made fit,” he joked about the oversized garment on her, trying to lighten the mood a little.
“Room. Right! Just this way.” Most of the night he’d been pretty passive. But now he decided it couldn’t hurt to actually hold her back. As they walked in the direction of the motel, he shifted his hand to around her waist as she held on to him for stability. She was so warm… her skin felt soft through the fabric. But he was just helping her stand up, right? Of course, he knew he was lying to himself, but he had to test the waters. See if, once and for all, she felt for him as much as he felt for her.
The cold air outside did help in clearing her head a little, but did nothing for the fact a maid’s outfit is not made for cold temperature, especially one dripping water. She tried to wipe it off again, resulting in just spreading more droplets all over her face and down to her clothes.
At least Kanji is kind enough to lend her his jacket, because intoxicated or not, she would be too stubborn to ask for anything. The jacket was warm and blocked the wind, and smell like him, which makes her smile widen as she tuck her head lower into the jacket that drapes over her frame like a blanket. “It’s warm…” She mumbles under it.
Feeling an arm on her back prompted her to do the same. Normally she would question it but… it’s Kanji. If she was to assign an attribute to every male member of the Team, Kanji would be ‘safe’. The second would be ‘gentle’. Both he’s displaying excellently and Naoto finds herself leaning against his side, wrapping her arm to his back and clung on there, her other hand holding the jacket close in the front.
The streets was quiet as they walked, well pass the time for most people to venture out. The walk was slow, mainly because Naoto keep stumbling over her own feet and attempting to match Kanji’s natural stride by widening hers has almost ended in her running into a lamppost. “I have my wallet, I can pay for our rooms tonight.” She suggest when they were getting closer to leaving the street behind.
Kanji had never seen her smile as much as she did tonight. “Glad you like it…”
She began leaning on him. His heart was beating a mile a minute… yet this was the happiest he’d ever been around her.
Naoto was still a bit tipsy. She was clearly starting to regain control. It made him wonder why she was still being so close to him… “Whoa!” Kanji pulled her out of the way just in time. The lamppost came pretty close to creating a comedy movie moment. Okay… she still needed to sober up some more.
Her next suggestion caught him off guard. “Oh. Are you sure?” He didn’t totally mind of course. Her family certainly had more money. Though somehow he felt responsible for her.
Truthfully, Naoto isn’t sure what she is doing herself. It seems any attempt on her part to be serious just keep failing immediately. Her head is still warm and woozy, and while she’s starting to calm down, it isn’t happening as quick as she had hoped.
It certainly isn’t happening fast enough for inanimate objects to be considered dangerous. First the water fountain and now the lamppost…
"It’s okay." Naoto nodded, which just made everything a slight bit worse. "Just let me get my card…" She struggled against the long sleeve of the jacket and the unfamiliar outfit underneath to get her wallet. Once she does, she flipped through several cards before picking out one, handing that over to Kanji. "Use this one… it’s one of my disguise card though so it uses a different name and all." She explained quickly as they make their way inside the motel.
“Oh… okay…” He had a feeling why she was using one of her disguise cards.
“Ah, welcome,” said the male clerk, putting down a magazine and still unfathomably chipper this late at night. Kanji figured they slept during the day or something. “You two are in luck, you have the last room.”
Room. In the singular.
“Right… so what’re the specs.”
“One queen size bed. I’m afraid the room isn’t a honeymoon suite or anything, but it should be enough for you two lovebirds.”
… why did people assume they were a couple sometimes? Oh, right. Because she was still clinging onto him and wearing his jacket. In this situation, he had to admit it made sense.
“Uh…”
“Anything wrong, sir?”
“No! Um, will that be okay for you, dear?” he asked, lookin towards Naoto. “Sorry, long night for us and all.”
Busy scanning the lobby of their chosen motel, Naoto almost missed the entire conversation. Almost. She did notice the single bed despite her state. And the fact the receptionist believe they are together.
Any other time, Naoto would at least make a fumbled attempt to correct him, but with how much filtering is correctly missing in her mind, she accepted it in stride.
Turning up to glance at Kanji, she smiled widely. “Of course, honey~ It’s perfect!” She answer, rivaling the receptionist in the department of ‘unholy hours to be chipper’. “We’ll take it. All we need is a bed anyway.” Naoto have no qualm as to how that could be taken. Or maybe she did it intentionally, as she glanced at Kanji’s face with a smirk that edges towards mischievous.
Kanji couldn’t help but grin and deepen in colour at the sound of her calling him “honey”. He flashed back to that rainy day where he’d refused to share an umbrella with her because he was over thinking things. Now, there was no avoiding being “practically a couple”. Everyone at Club Escapade had whispered it. He was thinking it… was she?
“Sure, we’ll take it.” He’d worry about the sleeping arrangements when it came time. “Here you go,” Kanji said, handing the card to the motel clerk, who in turn handed Kanji the usual forms to fill out.
He was terrified, yet thrilled at the prospect of dating her. Her! The Detective Prince! The newest generation of the Shirogane family, known widely as philanthropists and detectives. But even without the semi-celebrity status, she was still—
“Say… aren’t you her? The Detective Princess or something, right?” the clerk said, looking Naoto’s way.
Oh, brother… Kanji thought, looking up from writing a moment.
Naoto had turned her weight to lean against the table of the reception, watching Kanji filling out the form when the reception asked her. Seems he was paying more attention than she gave him credit, at least.
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Me? You think a celebrity detective would be found tipsy in the city, well pass midnight and signing in a room with one bed for two people?”
"Nah, but I do get that a lot though. I’m Naoko Matsunaga." She gave Kanji a look, hoping he’ll catch on. "People seems to like to think of me otherwise and that’s pretty flattering, don’t you think?" Deceiving and being quick on your feet was one of the detective skills she had a little trouble with, although it seems alcohol helped with the first part. She make a note to remember that.
Wow, she was good, even under the influence.
“Ah, well, sorry to embarrass you, Ms. Matsunaga. That Shirogane girl does usually dress a lot more butch. Y’know, she’d look fabulous in—”
“I like the way she dresses just fine,” Kanji blurted in a non-defensive, matter of fact tone. Whoops. “I mean… it suits her. She’s independent and cool and stuff. And she’d look beautiful no matter what she wore,” he corrected himself as he looked over towards Naoto. Sheepishly, he handed back the forms to the clerk.
“Haha, yes sir. I suppose you’re right. Better watch out, miss, it sounds like you’ve got competition for your boyfriend,” he winked, completely unaware of the irony. Handing back the card, he finalized their arrangements. “Alrighty, all of this looks good. You’re in room 15, just down that way,” he added, pointing to the hallway and handing Kanji the keys.
“Great! Well uh, let’s go, Nao— Naoko.”
The conversation had turned into one that’s amusing Naoto to no end. Here she is, listening a conversation about herself in third person. It’s rather… insightful, she thinks. So Kanji thinks whatever she wears is beautiful, huh?
Lucky that her face was already red from drinking, it hides the fact the thought that Kanji finds her beautiful at all was making her blush and fluster.
"Oh, I’m not worried about that~" Naoto answered the reception before giving him a little wave and once again lean on Kanji, letting him lead them away to their rooms.
Once safely out of hearing range from the receptionist and the general lobby area, Naoto turns back to Kanji. “So Kanji-kun, do I have to worry about competition after all?” She asked playfully, despite her sobering up quite nicely now. Still, never a better chance to ask all these questions, she thinks, seeing as they were dropping the tension and asking questions about where they stand with one another…
What. What does she mean by that? She’s not actually… is she?
“Ah-heh… Naoto. You’re full o’ jokes tonight. Y’know, that thing about me bein’ pretty. Now this. Haha… heh…” But the look on her face seems to say otherwise, even it was somewhat mischievous. “Well um. It’s not like I haven’t looked at other peo— No I mean. Just. So, if we were dating for whatever reason. You wouldn’t have to worry ‘cause… ‘cause anyone would have to be an idiot to give you up. I mean I almost thought you and Narukami were dating, but he said you two were just friends. But I guess he’s pretty good at talkin’ to anyone…” Unlike me, he finished in his head.
Before he knew it, they reached the door to the room.
“Okay, screw this. You know what? I’m so tired of this shit. Beatin’ around the bush with you. Hiding it. Acting all nervous and crap around you. Been doing this for like two effin’ years now. Naoto…” He steeled himself to say what needed to be said. “Let’s go inside. I think you’re sober enough to hear it. You really wanna know how I feel about us bein’ friends?”
Naoto remained silent as he stumbles over his words in an explanation. It was almost obvious to see where he’s going with his words, so much so Naoto wonders why she didn’t catch it all before, having held it off as simply a suspicion. It was so much more obvious now, and she can’t be sure if it’s because the alcohol removed the logical filter to her emotions, which in turn removed the self-doubts enough for her to be bold.
Nodding, Naoto agreed to the brief wait. She can do that. If Kanji had waited for two years, she can wait a minute or two until they are inside. Her face was red but her eyes was clear. A little duller than before, but clear enough to know she is sober and aware enough for this. Whether she’s going to end up thanking the night or not, it all depends on how the next few minutes played out. She silently gulped as she stared at the door holding the number to their room.
Soon, everything is either going to get better or more awkward, but changes will definitely happen. She can’t say she isn’t ready to end this whole charade, but she truly wish to know what Kanji thinks, because he matters as much in this as much as she does.
Going into the room, they had little time to check it out.
“Naoto… I…”
Just say it.
“I have really… deep feelings for you. Romantic, y’know,” he was afraid of saying “love” because it might be too strong, even though that’s what he felt. “First, it was just some crush. I almost hated you because you made me question my sexuality. Thinking that guys have no business being that pretty. But even after I knew that you weren’t just… it didn’t make a damn bit of difference. Felt the same, no more, no less. My feelings got even worse the more I got to know you. But also… I thought I never had a chance. You told Yu that you didn’t really want romance and that it was a waste of time. Plus there were how many people, guy and girls, writin’ to you all the time? They probably offered more than I could and you just didn’t bother with ‘em. But even if you did, I’d be the last one you’d think of. That awkward dude in the group. It got worse when things like us tumblin’ on top of each other happened on the ski trip…”
Kanji had never said so much to her at once. He took a moment to catch his breath.
“Basically, I don’t blame you if you can’t lo— feel that way about me back. I mean I hope you do, but. Just, my admiration for you increases all the time. You’re so damn smart, you can be pretty witty when you want to, and your fightin’ style was just so frickin’ awesome in the arena. Plus you’re just totally beautiful in like every way. Your laugh and stuff. Your smile. And… yeah I said too much. Heh…”
Kanji wasn’t sure if he’d scare her off or not at this point.
Naoto sat on the large bed as he talked. There isn’t much she can say to him, not until he’s finish. She can’t interrupt him, she feels he need to get this out of his system. As good a detective as she is, Naoto doesn’t know when the feeling has started on his end, except that it had for a long while. Maybe it did start from their first meeting, when she was just working on a case without a personal stake, but she don’t dare believe herself to be that good…
Once he finished, Naoto remain silent, letting everything he just said sink in. It’s not that the influence is keeping the words out, rather, she wants to make sure she understood everything he had just said. A repeat is not an option.
Finally, she took in a deep breath and shook her head, chuckling lightly. It’s now or never.
"Yu-senpai showed up quite a bit in your talk, so let me start by reassuring you that I don’t like him in that way. We are just friends and any previous misassumption is only because he is really good at talking to everyone, and that lies a problem if such a relationship is pursued; he’s far too multi-facade. Too much guess work in something where guessing is not exactly a good thing.
That said, allow me to move on to my second point; you. You on the other hand, are honest with what you think and that’s far more admirable than you believe. Give yourself a little more credit, Kanji-kun.” She smiled up at him before continuing. She need to have this out before the alcohol completely fade from her system and took away her pseudo bravery.
"I’m… Yosuke-senpai say I have a tin-ear, and while I don’t usually agree with what he says, I have to concur with that one observation. On hindsight, I must have appeared rather dense, huh? Wh-what I’m trying to say is, I like you. More than platonic. While not as long buried as yours are in return, it’s there and I… don’t know what else to say. I’m not very good at these, so-"
She sighed and stood up from her seat. She’s still so much shorter than him but when she looks up, it didn’t seems to matter. She got what she wanted to say out, partially at least and jumbled as it was, now they both stand evenly with each other.
Even if she have no idea what to say after all of that.
"So… Kanji Tatsumi, that means I like you too." She said conclusively and waited for his response, whatever it may be.
Kanji could hardly believe his ears. He had wanted to hear that since… forever. But now he was simply in shock because he had rationalized all night that her affections were merely brought on by the alcohol and a need to stay steady.
Naoto likes me the same way.
“You weren’t dense. I guess we just… didn’t really let each other know, huh? And I thought you’d never feel the same. You’re all smart and stuff. And I’m just me so…” he remembered what she said about giving himself more credit. Plus, if Naoto liked him the way he was, both as a friend and romantically, he wasn’t too bad, right?
Naoto nodded, watching his expression carefully. It was almost comical. She can tell he was in shock, which is amusing considering she also knows he wanted this for quite some time. Then again, she can see why it’s a shock, since she herself don’t know what to do with all of this now out in the open.
"Just you is just fine, Kanji-kun." She spoke as he trails off. "You’re just fine as you are now. I like the you as you are." She answered, firmer, gaining a bit more confidence in her words.
Then it was silence. Taking a deep breath, because he still doesn’t seems to be able to accept reality, she decide to do the work for them.
"So Kanji Tatsumi." A small nervous smile made it’s way across her lips. "Now that all of this is out in the open, I assume that means our relationship is about to change…I mean… if you want it to?"
“That… Jesus, Nao. You’ve got no idea what that means to me. Seriously. I really like you the way you are too. It’s not even about ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ and crap. You’re just like, the coolest person ever and you don’t even have to try! So, you thinking that… Hah. I don’t think I’ve been this happy since we locked away that Adachi creep and finally solved the rest of the case.”
He was grinning and blushing like mad.
“Yeah, I do wanna take it a step further. I mean it’s not like we gotta get married and have kids right now or anything! Ahem. We just… ya know. Do what couples do? Go on dates and stuff. Maybe, um, cuddle a bit at each other’s place and watch movies? I-if that’s okay with you. I mean I really liked bein’ close to you tonight so…” He still couldn’t believe he had the courage to kiss her on the cheek like he did, but the deceptively cloying mystery drink gave him a bit of help in that department.
Naoto nodded. She still isn’t sure what Kanji’s Shadow had been about, but she have her guesses based on the Bathhouse itself with all the ‘men only’ banner all over the walls. But whatever the exaggeration of the Shadow had made, it was obvious in his action that it revolves around his hobby and his ‘masculinity’ or at least a portion of it does.
Which is why hearing him say that was in itself a testimony to how much he had grown as a person too.
"Of course it’s okay with me." Naoto answer with a nod. Her smile was big for her normal standard, but the feeling of joy that cruise through her veins dictates that as the minimum. "W-we can go out to a movie or just watch some TV. Anything you like." Mainly because Naoto have no idea how a couple really works. She had never been in this circumstances before. She suspect neither has Kanji, but together she’s certain they can find a way to make it all work out for the best.
“… that sounds kickass. I can’t wait.” Kanji sat there, starry-eyed, until he remembered what they were there for. “Uh, ‘til then, why don’t we get some shuteye?” he asked, starting to take his shoes off. He then headed to the bathroom so he could remove his piercing jewelry… all but his nose stud. He was beginning to regret getting that one. If he had it out for more than a few hours it would hurt like hell to put back in. He couldn’t take it out overnight or it might just close up entirely. Plus, he just wasn’t sure if he liked the way it looked.
Thankfully, the motel had cheap toothbrushes and trial size toothpaste “just in case”. He brushed his teeth, washed his face, and came back out to main room. “All yours,” he said, taking off his socks and getting settled into bed.
Bed.
With Naoto.
He tried not to freak out at the idea. It’s not like they were doing anything dirty just because they confessed their feelings. But still, being close to her…
The alcohol fading in her system, Naoto nodded while resisting to yawn. She rubbed her eyes as she stretched her body. She watched Kanji enter the bathroom before kicking off her own shoes. Then she paused and looked at her own attire for the night.
Now a little more awake, she stared at the maid outfit. The horror is not setting in, but a frown spread across her lips. It wasn’t very comfortable to walk in, let alone sleep in. Still, it’s not as if she had much other choices in the matter.
Adjusting her outfit as best she could, she stood up and walked towards the bathroom once Kanji is done, missing his horror completely in her fidgeting. Likewise, she made use of the second set of cheap toothbrushes, still looking for possible ways to make herself comfortable.
It wasn’t until she’s out of the bathroom and stood before the single bed that she understood why Kanji paused in his steps. Oh. Right. One bed. Two people.
She, however, don’t seems too bothered by the idea. It’s Kanji after all. She trusts he won’t do anything, especially considering talking to him alone is enough to cause him to blush and stumble in his words. Gaining some courage in her trust, she went over to one side of the bed and lied down. And adjusted her outfit again. The zips are going to kill her back, she just knew.
Kanji watched as Naoto lay beside him. She appeared to be in pain. Oh… that maid outfit. Even slightly “loose” on her, it seemed to be one of those old fashioned uniforms meant more for looks than functionality. Most modern housekeepers wouldn’t be wearing those. Just where DID Minako work?
He couldn’t believe he was suggested this…
“Look, if you’re not comfortable in that… you can just wear my shirt. I-I won’t look…”
In a way, she is relieved to hear his suggestion. This outfit has too many zips and bits that dug into her skin, clung too tightly in several areas and restricting in movements. On the other hand, she’s going to wear his shirt… Naoto quietly debated this option, until she rolled over and a zipper on the side dug uncomfortably into her side.
"P-please… it would be highly difficult to sleep in this outfit. I-I know you won’t look…" This is testing their already muddled relationship even more. So many things happening in just one night.
“Okay…” He was a bit embarrassed to have his shirt off around Naoto. Even if he had been at the beach before, she wasn’t part of the Investigation Team yet. He couldn’t imagine wearing that “basic black” Yosuke hated so much around her now.
Reluctantly, he took his shirt off, handing it to her and hiding his torso under the sheets so she wouldn’t see how pale he was. It didn’t make sense of course, but nothing did when it came to being around her…
Naoto took the shirt gratefully, sparing a glance at Kanji, just one before heading towards the bathroom again to change. According to her memory, it’s not as if she haven’t worn his shirt before although the two situation is vastly different. He did say she looks good with his shirt on, if her hazy memory is to be believed.
But that matters little now. She have accepted his offer and as she slowly remove the outfit, she briefly wondered how they are going home when she’s in the maid outfit. Surely, the windmill of gossip will catch on fire if they appear like this. But that’s a worry for tomorrow. Slipping on his shirt, she yawned as she gather the outfit in her arms.
Walking out, she dropped them on a nearby chair before making her way to her side of the bed and slip under the blanket, all the while, a hand never let go of the bottom of his shirt, pulling them as far down as possible. The shirt already drapes over her but it still feel odd in nothing but a large shirt.
She wriggle herself next to him and with a moment’s hesitation, leans forward just enough to maybe touch his arm with her forehead. Her body have already curled itself up into a ball as she blinked sleepily. “Goodnight… and thanks again. For the shirt.” she hope in the darkness of the room, he can’t see just how red her face can become.
Naoto looked so good in his shirt. Was that weird? Maybe. But he couldn’t help but notice her legs, just imagining the way they curved into her behind underneath the shirt hem…
Kanji snapped back into focus as she lay beside him. Her breath was sweet, her face more beautiful than anyone he could think of. Hesitating, he felt her warm forehead against his arm as she curled up on her side. So she was a side sleeper. He wasn’t usually, but he wouldn’t mind doing it now.
"You’re welcome. Goodnight, sweet prince," he replied, getting a glimpse of her gorgeous eyes one last time before she shut them. Did he really just use that line? It was from ‘Hamlet’ if he recalled right. William Shakespeare. Though he used it in a far less tragic context, it was clear he was getting better at studying for school. This also meant he would be able to catch up to her intellect at least a little bit easier, something that had always intimidated him about her.
This hardly felt real.
He was expecting to wake up next to his senpai any moment now. Or worse, back in his home. Totally alone again. But he wasn’t.
"Hey Nao, you mind if I… cuddle up to you some more?" No answer. "Naoto?"
She was definitely asleep. Even her slow breaths seemed magical somehow.
He slowly turned on his side so he could face her, gazing upon her beauty as he slowly drifted to sleep…